The decision was taken on Wednesday by a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Thiruvananthapuram.
An elephant herd in Wayanad. (Kerala Tourism)
The recent fatal wildlife attacks on people in Kerala have prompted the state government to declare human-animal conflict a State-Specific Disaster, a move that will rope in the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) into activities at the district and local levels to address the issue.
The decision was taken on Wednesday by a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Thiruvananthapuram.
A statement released by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) announced that the State Disaster Management Authority would actively participate in mitigating human-animal conflict.
Four committees will be established, involving the chief minister and other ministers or consisting of officers, at the district and local levels.
The duties and functioning of these committees, including the state-level officer committee, will be set down after discussions with the chief secretary and the secretary of the forest department, the release said.
On Tuesday, 5 March, two elderly persons lost their lives in separate wild animal attacks in Kozhikode and Thrissur districts.
Abraham, a 70-year-old farmer, was attacked by an Indian gaur at his farm in the Kakkayam area of Kozhikode district around 3 pm. In a separate incident, a 62-year-old woman named Valsa, wife of a local tribal chief Rajan from Vachumaram area, was attacked and killed by a wild elephant in a forest area near Athirappally on Tuesday afternoon.
The tragic events occurred just a day after another elderly woman, 72-year-old Indira, died in a wild elephant attack in Idukki district. Indira was trampled by the elephant at Kanjiramveli near Adimali on Monday.
Three men have been killed in Wayanad in separate wild animal attacks since 30 January.
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