Idukki: Tribals from five settlement colonies in Chinnakanal here held a sit-in protest along the Suryanelli-Sinkukandam road on Tuesday demanding the relocation of wild tusker Arikomban back to the Mathikettan Shola, where the rogue jumbo was born and spent 35 years before it was translocated to Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) on April 30.
Protestors from tribal settlements of Aaduvilanthankudi, Tankkukudi, Pachapul, Chembakathozhu, and Kozhipana in the Chinnakanal region said they were pained to see Arikomban being tranquillized, captured and then made to stand on the truck for over 24 hours as it was translocated from Pooshanampatti near Cumbum to the Upper Kolayar region of Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve.
The tribals who took part in the four-hour-long protest said they were emotionally attached to the wild jumbo and could not stand the suffering meted out to it during the second translocation operation held in Tamil Nadu the other day.
They also said they are concerned about the health of the elephant and the injuries it has suffered on the trunk and one of its hind legs.
“What was the need to capture and shift the jumbo to PTR if it is made to suffer in such a manner? Our protest is a warning and we will intensify our protest if Arikomban keeps being tortured. Through this protest we are requesting the courts to bring back the jumbo to its native Chinnakanal where it led a much healthier life,” G Sundaram of Chembakathozhu settlement said.
“If the jumbo is not brought back to Mathikettan Shola, we will boycott the next elections,” Anatharaj, a protestor from the same settlement said.
It is to be noted that prior to the first capture and translocation of ‘Arikomban’ from Chinnakanal in April, the Sinkukandam region had witnessed indefinite protests held by local residents of the 301 Colony and nearby areas demanding the capture and relocation of the animal as it was wreaking havoc in the area by attacking ration shops and the house almost on a daily basis.
Tribals who protested on Tuesday said that they never demanded the translocation of ‘Arikomban’ from Chinnakanal and were not part of the protest raising such a demand.
However, Liju Varghese, Santhanpara Panchayat president who was at the forefront of the protests in April urging the government to capture ‘Arikomban’ from Chinnakanal and shift the animal elsewhere said that the protesters belonged to the Muthuvan tribe and they lived in a cluster of houses which are built close to each other in a part of Chinnakanal which was rarely raided by the rogue tusker.
“They were not facing the threat of erratic ‘Arikomban’ like others residing in the 301 Colony and the lane house of tea estate workers in the region. Besides that they are emotionally attached to the animal, as going by their traditions, they worship jumbos,” Liju said.
