A Kerala High Court-appointed five-member expert panel has approved a location to translocate wild tusker Arikompan. The five-member panel on Monday conducted a virtual meeting and approved one of the locations from the list submitted by the State government. The government submitted the list of alternative locations to the committee on Friday.
“The approved list, including the report, will be handed over to the State government on Tuesday. Once the committee approves the new location, the government can translocate Arikompan to the new place without further High Court approval,” said a source.
A senior Forest department official said the department would begin the darting process after receiving direction towards this from the government. “The Forest department will then complete the capturing and translocation of the tusker within two or three days,” said the official.
“A special team has already completed all arrangements for the mission, including with regard to the kumki elephants. The Forest department is closely monitoring the movements of the tusker,” said the official.
House attacked
Meanwhile, another wild tusker, locally known as Chakkakompan, attacked a house at 301 Colony, near Chinnakkanal, in Idukki on Sunday night.
According to local residents, the tusker attacked the house of Leela Chandran around 11.30 p.m. Ms Chandran was at her sister’s house at the time and hence escaped the attack. They said the tusker destroyed the kitchen door and a nearby shed. Local residents reached the spot and chased away the tusker from the area.
