In a meeting held on Friday to address the elephant menace inside the Aralam farm, it was decided to train and employ 20 persons from the farm to clear overgrown shrubs and thick vegetation, which have turned into safe havens for the jumbos. The meet was chaired by District Collector S. Chandrasekhar.
Eight women
According to a press release, the men will be given special training to use machinery and clear the overgrowth. Eight women, who were trained earlier, will also be included in the project. The workers will clear the area every three months, and their salary will be paid by the government, Mr. Chandrasekhar said.
Machines will be provided free of cost, and the workers will earn a living by doing other jobs such as farming once the forest clearing is over. The 10-day training will begin on August 16 at Aralam farm.
M.P. Anoop, Deputy Director, Agriculture department; C. Ravikumar, Joint Director, Industrial Training department; Sudhir Narayanan, Assistant Executive Engineer, Agriculture department; P.P. Pavanan, Padiyur Government ITI Principal; Narayanan Kunhikannoth, Kurumathur Government ITI Group Instructor; S. Santosh Kumar, Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP) Officer; and District Skill Coordinator P.J. Vijesh and Suraj Simon attended the meeting.
