District administration offers comprehensive assistance to Aneesh’s family

The Kannur district administration has assured comprehensive assistance to the family of A.S. Aneesh who was killed in a wild elephant attack at Aralam farm and resolved to intensify measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.

The decisions were taken at a meeting held at the collectorate on Tuesday. Sunny Joseph, MLA, District Collector Arun K. Vijayan, family members of Aneesh, and people’s representatives attended the meeting.

Immediate steps will be taken to grant compensation, and a recommendation was made to the government to bear the educational expenses of Aneesh’s children, said Rajesh Kumar, project officer, Integrated Tribal Development Project.

He added that a stronger enforcement team had been proposed to address human-wildlife conflict and ensure a permanent mechanism to clear undergrowth. The Tribal Development department Secretary and Director will visit Aralam farm soon.

A special officer has been appointed to oversee farm operations and will conduct weekly field-level reviews.

Pending completion of the elephant wall by May 31, solar fencing will be repaired and strengthened, and an alert system will be installed to warn residents of elephant movements in the farm, S. Sujeesh, special officer, Aralam farm, said. The contractor has been directed to deploy more workers to expedite construction. Additional patrol teams, including two from TRDM, will be deployed, he added.

Meanwhile, concerns were raised over damaged solar fences and inadequate farm maintenance.