Forest minister for tough action against erring devaswoms

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Forest minister K B Ganesh Kumar has warned of strict action against those who torture elephants in the state. Elephants owned by devaswom boards are being subjected to cruel treatment these days. It has been decided to take strict action against those involved in this, the minister said.
The minister pointed out that the mahout involved in the torture of an elephant at Guruvayur devaswom was arrested immediately.He urged everyone, including the officials not to protect any persons involved in the torture of elephants.
More and more reports of elephant torture are being reported from various parts of the state. Recently the media had exposed an incident in which a group of four men was involved. "It has been decided to take action against these people. No one will be spared. I request no one should come to me with any recommendations for these people,'' said the minister.
The minister also criticized Travancore Devaswom Board for the sad plight of elephants owned by it. "The board has no idea how many elephants it has and where they are deployed. The forest department had submitted a Rs 4.5 crore project for the protection of elephants. But even after five months the board has not responded to it," the minister said.