For years, elephants have gone through unspeakable torture and abuse at the hands of human beings so we could satiate our own needs - be it tourism or other material benefits. From hunters and poachers targetting them for sport or their tusks, to people trying to tame them for entertainment purposes,?these gentle giants have been beaten, shocked, and whipped into submission.
Since there's no concrete way to curb this violence, Kerala has come up with a unique initiative to help them - an elephant rehabilitation centre.?
Kerala inaugurated its first-ever rehabilitation centre in its ecotourism village of Kottoor. A fund of Rs 105 Crore has already been granted for the project.?
According to a Hindustan Times report,?the project was launched last month by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and the centre will have everything - from?elephant museum, mahout training centre, super-specialty hospital and a retirement home, to a crematorium for the animals.?
During the inauguration that took place in June this year, Pinarayi Vijayan said 441 reservoirs will also be constructed in the rehabilitation centre for the elephants.?
The centre will be spread over 65 hectares of natural forests that will also offer elephant safari and other activities for tourists.?
The rehabilitation centre will also take care of injured, orphaned and older elephants. So far, the rehabilitation centre has only 15 elephants in it and once the infrastructure of the centre is complete, it is expected to raise the number of elephants, states the HT report.?
A Thiruvananthapuram Wildlife warden mentioned, "besides giving best care and protection to orphaned and abandoned elephants we are planning to give an opportunity for people to know more about elephants. They can understand their behavior and life pattern from a close range."
According to the?project report approved by KIIFB, the centre will have a?a scientific waste treatment plant. With the Elephant population that will live in the centre, generation of three tonnes of dung is expected per day and this will be put to good use.?
There will be a special unit that will produce paper?out of it, and a biogas plant will generate fuel for kitchens with the help of elephant dung, reports TOI.?
Elephant expert PS Easa also says that they have been toying with the idea for some time and once it is complete, it will be a boon for wildlife researchers and veterinary students.
Further, there are plans of admitting the captive jumbos in the centre. As per the last elephant census, there are 507 captive elephants in the state. In fact, the Sree Krishna temple in Guruvayur town alone has 59 elephants.
The construction of the rehabilitation centre will be completed by 2021.