The Forest department has shifted the kumki (trained) elephant camp from Cement Palam, near Chinnakkanal, to 301 Colony, 4 km away.
According to Forest department officials, the four kumki elephants — Vikram, Surya, Kunju, and Surendran — were shifted to 301 Colony on Sunday morning.
A senior Forest department official said that the kumki camp at Cement Palam had turned a tourist destination of sorts. “Heavy rush of tourists poses a threat to the kumki elephants. The presence of wild elephants, including Arikompan, was a threat to tourists,” said the official.
“A large number of tourists, including women and children, used to visit Cement Palam to watch the kumki elephants and take pictures. As the camp was on the Chinnakkanal-Bodimettu road, we could not block tourist vehicles. So we shifted the camp to 301 Colony, away from the roadside,” said the official.
“A nearby estate area in Cement Palam was being used to prepare food for elephants and mahouts. The estate owners also demanded that the elephants be shifted from Cement Palam,” said the official.
Meanwhile, the residents of 301 Colony welcomed the shifting of the kumki elephants to the locality. “The presence of kumki elephants to 301 Colony will be helpful in preventing wild elephant attacks,” said a resident.
According to the Forest department officials, four kumki elephants have been camping at Cement Palam for nearly one month. “At present, the Forest department is clueless about when to conduct the darting operation of tusker Arikompan,” said the official.
Residents of Sinkukandam and 301 Colony said that delaying the mission was a threat to people in Chinnakkanal and Santhanpara panchayats. Rajan, a Sinkukandam resident, said people could not stay in their houses from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. due to the presence of Arikompan, and other wild elephants.
Chinnakkanal panchayat president Sini Baby said that the Chinnkkanal and Santhanpara panchayats were awaiting the Supreme Court decision on capturing Arikompan.
