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Kerala to set up more RRTs, control centres to curb man-animal conflict
Kerala ministers convened a meeting in Wayanad to address human-wildlife conflict, deciding to increase rapid response teams and form a monitoring committee.
Kochi:
An all-party meeting was convened by three ministers of the Kerala government on Tuesday in Wayanad to find a solution to the district’s growing human-wildlife conflict. During the meeting, important decisions were taken, including increasing the number of rapid response teams (RRTs), setting up of a command control centre and formation of a people’s monitoring committee, said those who attended the meeting.
The meeting came up in the backdrop of two men being killed in elephant attacks in the last two weeks and the rise of public anger over increasing intrusions of wild animals, especially elephants and tigers, into human settlements along forest fringes.
Revenue minister K Rajan, local self-governments minister MB Rajesh and forest minister AK Saseendran collectively chaired the all-party meeting in the presence of the district collector Renu Raj at the Wayanad collectorate in Kalpetta on the instructions of chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
“A command control centre to monitor animal intrusions and operations to capture them will be set up. Apart from one existing RRT, two more RRTs will be formed and made permanent in the district. Operations at the control centre within the Bavali forest checkpost have been strengthened. A people’s monitoring committee with district collector as the chairperson will be formed soon,” Rajan told the reporters after the meeting.
He added that measures to warn local residents about incursions by wild animals through community radio, microphone announcements and WhatsApp groups have also been strengthened.
The revenue minister said, most of the suggestions that cropped up will be realised on a war footing.
Meanwhile, two Congress MLAs from the district and party’s representatives in local bodies boycotted the all-party meeting accusing the government of failing to protect people’s lives.
They also demanded the resignation of the forest minister for failing to visit the homes of the victims in the aftermath of the incident.
“It will disappoint the people if political differences crop up in the middle of solving such a huge problem. We have to stand united at this time,” said minister Rajesh.
The ministers also visited the homes of the two victims near Padamala and consoled the families.
