Rogue elephant dies in Karnataka after being tranquilised, relocated from Kerala
Kerala govt appoints panel to probe into death of captured rouge elephant
Kozhikode (Kerala), Feb 3: The Kerala government on Saturday appointed a high-level committee headed by a Chief Conservator of Forests to probe whether there were any lapses in connection with the capture of the rogue elephant from Wayanad which died after being transported to Karnataka.
The elephant was captured after an hours-long mission on February 2 when it had ventured into the southern state.
State Forest Minister A K Saseendran told PTI that a committee headed by Eastern Circle CCF and Custodian of Vested Forests, Palakkad, K Vijayananthan, will probe the matter and submit a report within a month.
Meanwhile, doctors who were part of the necropsy of the elephant which had died at Bandipur in Karnataka, told the media that as per the preliminary reports, the cause of death was "pulmonary arrest".
"There was a 40-cm-wide wound on the elephant's thigh which was filled with pus. There are chances of infection. We have collected the samples which will be sent to the laboratory for further examination," Forest veterinary officer of Wayand, Dr Ajesh Mohandas, who was present during the autopsy of the elephant told the media.
He further said that the injury in the thigh was over a month old and the pulmonary arrest was due to that infection.
Mohandas said the animal had undergone heavy stress and trauma twice in the last one month.
He was referring to the news reports which said that the elephant was earlier tranquilized in Karnataka when it ventured into a human habitat. The animal which then ventured into Kerala was captured on Friday after darting it.
However, Saseendran said the autopsy was held in Karnataka and the official report will be out after the concerned officials prepare it.
He said the high-level committee was appointed to probe whether there were any lapses on capturing the pachyderm.
Saseendran had earlier termed it as the 'utmost painful', the news about the animal's death, which had shocked everyone.
Called as 'Thanneer Komban' by locals, the elephant was captured more than 16 hours after it entered Kerala on Friday.
The tusker was darted with tranquiliser shots twice before being loaded onto a truck with the help of kumki elephants for being transported to Bandipur in Karnataka.
After around 10 pm on Friday, the pachyderm was loaded onto the truck with the help of the kumki elephants.
Kumki elephants are captive pachyderms used in operations for trapping and capturing other elephants.
The elephant was calm and composed throughout and did not attack anyone or cause any major property damage.
However, after reaching Bandipur last night, the elephant died.
The KFD today with the help of Kumki Elephant, severely tortured an elephant named Thaneer Komban and took it away in a vehicle. The elephant screamed from the pain of the wound @moefcc @narendramodi @Manekagandhibjp @byadavbjp @rameshpandeyifs @pinarayivijayan @saseendran_ak pic.twitter.com/vQZysCihmG
— Parthiban S (@Parthiban951428) February 2, 2024
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
