Neelakantan, a 22-year-old tusker with the Abhayaranyam elephant training and rescue centre, has become the focal point of a conflict between residents of Kodanad and the Forest Department.
The raging protests over the department’s decision to take Neelakantan for Kumki training (Kumki is a captive elephant used to tame wild ones) snowballed into a major crisis, with the locals intervening in a mid-night attempt to shift the animal from here in the early hours of Sunday. The showdown, which began around 2.30 a.m. with the arrival of a vehicle to move the elephant, lasted around two hours.
Meanwhile, a police team from Perumbavoor reached the spot and attempted to clear the protesters, further worsening the situation. The tension in the air eased with the Forest Department officials finally conceding to hold a discussion with the agitators later in the day.
The meeting, held in the presence of Perumbavoor MLA Eldhose Kunnapilly, failed to break the deadlock as both sides obdurately stuck to their respective positions. They are now awaiting the outcome of a meeting between the local MLA and the Forest Minister, which is slated to take place in a couple of days. According to elephant enthusiasts, Neelakantan, one of the healthiest among the eight elephants at the centre here, has been a major attraction to visitors. “Having brought here when he was just six months old, Neelakantan has been raised among us as a captive elephant, and he does not have the mental capacity to undergo tough training. Even if he is taken for training, we want an assurance from the authorities that he will be brought back to Kodanad subsequently,” said M.P. Prakash, a block panchayat member and president of Alattuchira Vana Samrakshana Samiti.
To coordinate the protests, the locals have also floated a social media messenger group, Kodanad Neelakantan. The Forest Department, on the other hand, maintains that the decision to send Neelakantan for Kumki training was in accordance with a well-thought-out plan, considering his age and physical and mental heath.
“Neelakantan is one of the three elephants selected to attend the training programme, which is slated to begin at the Muthumalai Wildlife Sanctuary on June 15. Upon completing the four-month programme, the elephants will be deployed to contain man-elephant conflicts at locations including a forest fringe near Kodanad,” said B.S. Anjan Kumar, Chief Conservator of Forests, Palakkad Wildlife Circle, who coordinates the programme.
Besides the selected elephants, their mahouts will be imparted special training, he added.
As Kerala does not have a Kumki elephant, it often brings trained elephants from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
