Arikomban: Parambikulam natives to approach HC; hartal in Muthalamada on Tuesday

Kollengode (Palakkad): Residents of Muthalamada panchayat in Palakkad have decided to approach the High Court against its direction to shift Arikomban, a rogue wild tusker roaming the Chinnakanal region in Idukki, to the Parambikulam forests.

As a mark of protest, they will observe a hartal in the panchayat on Tuesday.

The decisions were made during separate meetings organised by K Babu MLA and the panchayat authorities. A meeting of lawyers in the Nenmara assembly constituency will be convened to discuss on how to raise before the High Court the concerns of people living in the Parambikkulam region.

Protests will be intensified across Muthalamada, Kollengode, Elavancherry, Nenmara, Ayiloor and Nelliampathi panchayats.

These local bodies will also adopt resolutions against shifting the wild tusker, named for its love for rice, to Parambikulam. A protest meeting under an all-party collective will be staged at Kambrathuchalla in Muthalamada panchayat on Monday.

The administrative council of the Muthalamada panchayat, on its part, also convened an all-party meeting and decided to initiate legal action separately. Protest meetings will be organised at Parambikulam on Monday and at Kambrathuchalla on February 13.

The forest department, meanwhile, is likely to conduct the trial run for shifting Arikomban to Parambikkulam, soon. The elephant has been directed to be released in the Muthuvarachal region within the Oru Komban forest range inside the Parambikkulam Tiger Reserve.

This location lies close to the forests of Chalakkudy and Nelliyampathy and can be accessed either through Chalakkudy or via Kariyarkutty in Parambikkulam.