Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said the government has adopted several measures to minimise man-animal conflict in the State.
Inaugurating the construction of the state-of-the-art elephant rehabilitation centre in Kottoor on Sunday, Mr. Vijayan said 441 reservoirs were constructed in forest areas across the State to ensure a steady availability of water for elephants, especially during summers. Besides, the Jan Jagratha Samithis and the SMS alert facility had been strengthened to rein in the problem.
Munnar
While expediting the works in Kottoor, the government had also focused on setting up an elephant sanctuary spread across 600 hectares in Munnar. No efforts were being spared to ensure the welfare of captive and wild elephants in the State, Mr. Vijayan said.
Presiding over the function, Forest Minister K. Raju said the Forest Department had initiated steps to employ 500 forest dwellers as beat forest officers.
He added that adalats would be organised to address the problems faced by those who resided in forest areas.
Water Resources Minister K. Krishnankutty, Adoor Prakash, MP, K.S. Sabarinadhan, C.K. Hareendran, MLAs, district panchayat president V.K. Madhu, Head of Forest Force P.K. Kesavan, Chief Wildlife Warden Surendrakumar and Kottoor elephant rehabilitation centre special officer K.J. Varughese were also present on the occasion.
