Strict safety measures in wildlife conflict zones

Kochi: The district development committee meeting held on Saturday decided to enforce stringent security measures in the Kothamangalam forest region, where conflicts between humans and wildlife continue to be a significant concern.Antony John MLA urged officials to maintain caution in regions experiencing frequent wildlife attacks. Recently, two people lost their lives in elephant attacks in the region. Engineering student Ann Mary was killed after a palm tree, pushed by an elephant, fell on the bike on which she was riding pillion.Days later, a daily wage worker Eldhose Varghese was trampled to death by a wild elephant while walking to his house at night on a panchayat road passing through the forest in Kuttampuzha. The MLA claimed that so far, 13 people were killed by wildlife attacks in the Kothamangalam constituency. He said that security arrangements related to human-wildlife conflict should be coordinated by divisional forest officers. Areas such as Kuttampuzha, Keerampara, Neriamangalam, Pindimana, and Kavalangad require heightened alertness. The MLA also instructed to make the operations of rapid response teams more efficient.District collector NSK Umesh informed that trenching and solar fencing measures are progressing in Kuttampuzha. A meeting was held recently to assess the situation following the elephant attacks. Trenching activities are in progress, and the project is expected to be completed within six months. Due to a lack of bidders for the hanging fencing tender, it has been decided to assign the task to the firm that secured the trenching contract.Streetlights are being installed along the entire road passing through the forest. To avoid delays, the district collector will grant permission for a short tender under the Disaster Management Act.
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