Kerala's 'Mission Arikomban' raises questions

A large patch of forest, trapped between human inhabitants on one side and the Anayirangal dam on the other, is the home of wild elephants, including Arikomban, who is now estimated to be between the age of 25 and 30.The district administration has taken unprecedented precautions for the capture of this elephant, as the area of operation is located inside human settlements and in some of Keralas favourite tourism destinations.

In Kerala's famous Kodanad Elephant Training Camp, a temporary cage measuring 15 feet x 15 feet inside and 20 feet high, made using Eucalyptus wood, is being readied for a special guest—a rogue wild tusker—popularly known as 'Arikomban' for his love for rice. The experienced mahouts of the camp in Ernakulam district eagerly await the arrival of the young tusker. About a hundred kilometres away from Kodanad, in Chinnakanal in Idukki, a big team consisting of Forest, police, revenue, and health department officials is fine-tuning the last-minute preparations for one of their most complicated elephant relocation missions: To send this tusker, which frequently strays into human settlements and raids ration shops in search of rice, to the Kodanad camp. Casting a shadow over the operation to cage 'Ari Komban', the Kerala High Court on Thursday night stayed the department's move till March 29.

A Division Bench of the High Court took the decision on pleas filed by animal rights organisations, challenging the mission planned for March 26.

If the high court lifts the stay and give its go ahead to the task force, 'Arikomban', who earned the nickname from Malayalam words 'Ari' (Rice) and 'Komban' (tusker), will have to say goodbye to the wild where he was born, played, and grew up. A large patch of forest, trapped between human inhabitants on one side and the Anayirangal dam on the other, is the home of wild elephants, including Arikomban, who is now estimated to be between the age of 25 and 30.

The district administration has taken unprecedented precautions for the capture of this elephant, as the area of operation is located inside human settlements and in some of Kerala's favourite tourism destinations. The plans include the invocation of Section 144 of CrPC in the wards of two panchayats on the day of operation. The district administration is worried about people gathering in the areas during the operation as the news about the capture is widely publicised. Forest Department sources said already huge crowds are gathering to watch the Kumki elephants, which are brought to Chinnakanal for the operation. ''We are trying everything to restrict the crowd's movement. We do not know what the elephant will do if it gets agitated. The capture area is not inside the forest, and we have many tribal colonies there,'' Shantri Tom, Assistant Conservator of Forests, Devikulam Range, told PTI. In order to keep the curious people at bay, the task force has arranged a mike announcement in both the panchayats in three languages, Malayalam, Tamil, and the tribal language Kudi. The task force had earlier postponed the date of the capture from March 25 to March 26 considering the annual examinations in schools and colleges scheduled on Saturday and also due to the delay in the arrival of two more Kumkis—domesticated elephants trained to tame wild pachyderms. The Forest department has already brought in two Kumki elephants from Wayanad—Vikram and Suryan—and two more are expected to reach Chinnakanal for the mission. ''Once captured, Arikomban will be shifted to Kodanad Elephant Camp,'' Sheeba George, Collector of Idukki district, told PTI. The Forest department was forced to make a decision to capture this rogue elephant after he continued to cause damage to properties and the ration shops in the area. He also damaged many houses in the area. The locals then took to the streets to agitate against the forest department, and a plan for the capture of the elephant was finalised. According to the plan, the task force would be starting their operation as early as 4 AM. Eleven teams comprising 71 members in total will circle the area in order to contain the elephant. The team will set up a makeshift ration shop to attract the elephant, and then a team led by famous veterinarian Dr Arun Zacharia will tranquilise the elephant. Arikomban would then bid farewell to his favourite slopes under high dose of sedation and when he opens his eyes, he would be inside the strong confinements of the temporary cage in Kodanad, with the experienced mahouts ready to train him under the guidance of another master mahout from Muthanga elephant camp, Wayanad. ''He (Arikomban) is very young and would be trained to become a good Kumki elephant here,'' Srikanth Nair, section forest officer, Kodanad told PTI. What they do not say is that Arikomban will never be a wild elephant again, he will have to listen to the commands of his mahouts after a gruelling training session. However, for experts, the problem is far from over with the capture of 'Arikomban'. According to them, many other elephants have been trapped in the area, just like Arikomban, since 2003, when the then-state government, led by A K Antony, decided to relocate tribal families from various parts of Kerala to Anayirangal, effectively closing down the elephant corridors. Elephants in this area, which used to travel to areas like Munnar, Thekkady, Marayoor, and even up to Chinnar, got trapped between the Anayirangal dam and the human settlements. ''It was a wrong decision. If I remember correctly, the forest department had objected to the policy decision to hand over that land to tribals, for the good of humans and for the good of elephants,'' Dr P S Easa, elephant expert and member of the Asian Elephant Special Group, told PTI. ''Habitat was denied to the elephants,'' he said. He said the issue is not going to end with the capture of one elephant in Anayirangal. ''The same demands are going to come from every part of Kerala. This is what they had done in Malampuzha, where they captured one elephant after a protest by locals. So people are going to ask why only in Anayirangal, or Malampuzha and are going to demand the relocation of elephants from other areas as well,'' Easa added.

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