First-phase development of jumbo rehab centre launched (State of Kerala, India)
First-phase development of jumbo rehab centre launched (State of Kerala,
India)
The Hindu
February 16, 2021
The State has succeeded in reining in wildlife crimes through various
steps, including intensified surveillance and enhancement of forest staff,
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said.
Inaugurating the first phase of the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund
Board (KIIFB)-funded development of the Kottoor Elephant Rehabilitation
Centre on Tuesday, Mr. Vijayan said Kerala had become a model for forest
and wildlife conservation in the country.
Nefarious activities in forests such as poaching, especially rackets that
targeted wild elephants, were countered through modernising the Forest and
Wildlife Department, expanding its network of forest stations and engaging
more number of tribal youths for forest conservation.
Citing a study conducted by the Forest Survey of India for preparing for
India State of Forest Report, he added that the forest cover in the State
increased by 823 sq km in 2019, when compared to a previous assessment two
years earlier.
To alleviate the woes of those living on forest fringes in districts such
as Wayanad, Palakkad, and Malappuram, the government successfully undertook
a ₹938-crore project that involved erection of barriers, including solar
fences and rail fencing, to prevent wildlife intrusion into human habitats
and rehabilitating those residing in forest interiors to safer locations.
Elephant Corridors
Pointing out that the State accounted for 5,706 out of the country’s wild
elephant population of 27,785 (according to a 2019 census), priority was
also ensured to develop elephant corridors to prevent the pachyderms from
venturing into human habitations.
The Chief Minister added that the ₹105-crore project to upgrade the
elephant rehabilitation centre at Kappukadu would boost the government’s
efforts in rescuing captive elephants that were subjected to exploitation
and rehabilitating them in their own ecosystem. “The development of the
centre across 176 acres of forest area in a manner that enables the
accommodation of 50 elephants will make it the largest such facility in the
world,” he said.
Presiding over the function, Forest Minister K. Raju said four elephant
enclosures, parking area, entrance plaza, administration block,
elephant-rearing centre, quarantine centre, cafeteria, and a veterinary
hospital had been readied at the centre in the first phase of the ongoing
project. The centre had already found a prominent spot on the global
tourism map.
C. K. Hareendran, MLA, and Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head
of Forest Force P.K. Kesavan were among those who spoke on the occasion.