Pursuing its policy to improve conservation of wildlife, the Forest Department of Tamil Nadu Government has an issued order to set up a new elephant camp at a cost of Rs.8 crore. This camp will be located at Sadivayal in Coimbatore.
This is a follow-up action on the announcement made by M.K. Stalin, the State Chief Minister on March 15 to establish a new camp at Coimbatore. Incidentally, the camp has been functioning as a temporary one since 2012.
Sharing details about this allocation, Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary and Forest Secretary said: “The sanctioned amount of Rs.8 crore will be utilized for creating elephant sheds, veterinary facilities, kitchen and elephant-proof trenches, food and water facilities for elephants. With these initiatives, the conservation and management of camp elephants will improve significantly. This proposal also includes strengthening of rescue related activities including specialized transport with necessary facilities.”
As per the Press release from the Forest Department, with these initiatives, the conservation and management of camp elephants will improve significantly keeping in sync with the Government conservation policies for elephants.
Apart from this an amount of Rs.5 crore was also sanctioned for improvement of Kozhikamuthi elephant camp at the Anamalai Tiger Reserve. The allocation will be used to create infrastructure facilities at the camp, training for mahouts and cavades, setting up of a viewing gallery for visitors, improvement of food preparation area and water availability for elephants.
It may be recalled that when the CM felicitated the couple Bomman and Belli on whom the Oscar-winning documentary “The Elephant Whisperers” was based, it was announced Rs.1 lakh each will be granted to all the 91 mahouts and cavades. The State Government also sanctioned Rs.9.10 crore for construction of eco-friendly and culturally compatible houses for the elephant caretakers of Theppakadu and Kozhikamuthi elephant camps. Of the 91 houses, 44 will be made in the former camp while 47 in the second one.
Also read: Tamil Nadu Govt honours ‘Elephant Whisperers’ couple, gives cash reward and houses to 91 caretakers
