Palakkad Tusker-7 continues to scare villagers as kraal is getting ready in Wayanad
The Hindu
Forest department plans to tranquilise the elephant and transport it in a lorry to Wayanad, where it will be put in a kraal and tamed
A rogue elephant codenamed PT-7 (Palakkad Tusker-7) that gained notoriety by continually raiding the villages on the fringes of Dhoni forest continued to scare the people of Dhoni and Akathethara in spite of the efforts by the Forest department to capture it and convert it into a kumki.
Although the elephant is tracked by a forest team led by Divisional Forest Officer Sreenivas Kurra, the tranquilising capture schedule has been extended because of a delay in the construction of a kraal in Wayanad.
The plan is to tranquilise the medium-sized tusker, presumably 20-25 years old, and transport it in a lorry to Wayanad, where it will be put in a kraal and tamed. Although the plan looks simple, it involves elaborate arrangements as carrying the pachyderm about 180 km under sedation is risky.
According to Chief Forest Veterinary Officer Arun Zachariah, a key member of the team on the PT-7 trail, the elephant can be captured and transported by this month-end.
The 18-ft high kraal is getting ready in Wayanad. Dozens of eucalyptus trees were cut down for its construction. The foundation of the kraal alone will have a depth of six foot.
When the kraal is ready, another small kraal will be made for transporting the pachyderm in a truck. “We cannot afford to let the elephant lie down. It will be standing and in sedation,” said Dr. Zachariah.
Three kumkis will be brought in from Wayanad for pushing and wheedling PT-7 into the lorry. Although tranquilising the animal appears not too risky a process, translocating it under sedation to Wayanad 180 km away is. The vehicle carrying the bull cannot run faster than 20-30 km an hour.
As Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N. Chandrababu Naidu is all set to take oath as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh for the fourth time, at Kesarapalle IT Park located near Vijayawada on June 12 (Wednesday), arrangements are underway for a live telecast of the ceremony at eleven places across the Nellore district.
Governor S. Abdul Nazeer has invited the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which is part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), to form the government in the State. The swearing-in ceremony will be held at Kesarapalle near here on June 12 (Wednesday). Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a host of national leaders will take part in the event
Ambassador of Finland to India Kimmo Lähdevirta on Tuesday said Finnish companies “face issues” in Tamil Nadu due to regulations that prevent their participation in tendering processes. Interacting with senior journalists of The Hindu at its head office in Chennai, he said certain regulations imposed by the State government were limiting.