Aralam elephant wall must be ready by December: Minister Sunny Joseph tells PWD

Kannur: Electricity & Environment Minister and Kannur district in-charge Sunny Joseph on Saturday directed the Public Works Department (PWD) to complete the long-delayed elephant-proof wall at Aralam by December. The direction was given on the same day a tuskless elephant overturned a Rapid Response Team (RRT) jeep inside Aralam Farm.

Joseph was speaking at the district-level meeting of the Human-Wildlife Conflict Mitigation Committee. On Saturday morning, a tuskless elephant overturned an RRT vehicle at Block 9 of Aralam Farm, the second attack on the force by elephants within a week. The RRT is deployed at Aralam to drive elephants out of human habitations and into the forest.

Aralam Farm, on the fringes of the Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary, was developed as a tribal rehabilitation project where around 3,335 tribal families were allotted one acre each. Residents say the settlement was never adequately secured against elephant movement, making it one of Kerala's worst human-elephant conflict zones.

In 2014, the Oommen Chandy government built a 13-km stone elephant barrier from Valayanchal to Kariyankappu along one side of the sanctuary. The wall remains intact and has largely prevented elephants from entering the farm through that stretch. In 2016, the LDF government sanctioned another 13-km elephant-proof concrete wall from Valayanchal in Block 9 to Pottichapara in Block 13. However, construction has progressed at a snail's pace despite repeated fatalities and sustained protests by residents.
When contacted, District Collector P Vishnuraj said about five kilometres of the granite wall had been completed, and another six kilometres remained. However, the work has run into two hurdles, he said: terrain and rain.

The granite wall forms the centrepiece of what officials described as a three-layer protection system for residents of Aralam Farm, along with digital solar fencing and continuous patrolling by the Rapid Response Team. "The RRT is working round the clock to drive elephants back into the forest. But that effort can become truly effective only after the wall is completed," the Collector said.

He said most stretches are already protected by digital solar fencing that immediately alerts the RRT whenever the fence is breached or damaged.
The meeting, however, did not discuss any plan to capture, relocate or specifically drive away the tuskless elephant that has been blamed by Forest officials on the ground and people's representatives for a series of recent attacks, including the killing of daily wage labourer Aneesh in February.

At the Human-Wildlife Conflict Mitigation Committee meeting, Forest officials did not disclose that the same elephant was behind the attacks.  

Sunny Joseph, who represents Peravoor constituency, which includes Aralam, also asked officials to clear dense vegetation around tribal settlements to improve visibility and reduce elephant movement near habitations. In a longer-term measure, the minister said the government would examine whether changes in cropping patterns could reduce human-elephant conflict. Based on studies by the Forest and Agriculture departments, the government will explore encouraging the cultivation of crops that are less attractive to elephants. He also directed officials to expedite decisions on applications for gun licences issued for controlling wild boars.

District Collector Vishnuraj instructed the Local Self-Government Department to prepare a list of privately owned lands overgrown with vegetation, saying such plots often provide cover for wild animals. Forest officials also told the meeting that illicit distillation units operating outside forest areas were attracting elephants and said awareness campaigns were needed to address the issue. Construction of hanging solar fences is currently underway in the hill panchayats of Ayyankunnu, Kottiyoor, Udayagiri and Kelakam.

Shortage of snake rescuers
The meeting noted an acute shortage of trained snake rescue volunteers in the district. Except for Kottiyoor and Kanichar, most hill panchayats do not have enough volunteers. The Forest Department said it was prepared to train volunteers identified by grama panchayats, following which the minister directed that a meeting of panchayat presidents be convened.