Andhra Pradesh forest officials have chalked out an action plan to train mahouts and kavadis drawn from several areas and zoos in AP at elephant camps in Karnataka from November 10 to December 11 on how to handle Kumki elephants. (Image: DC)
Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh forest officials have chalked out an action plan to train mahouts and kavadis drawn from several areas and zoos in AP at elephant camps in Karnataka from November 10 to December 11 on how to handle Kumki elephants. A mahout is a person who handles elephants while a kavadi assists the mahout. Kumkis are trained elephants that help forest officials in dealing with wild elephants.
As part of an agreement between Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, AP will get four Kumki elephants to deal with the menace of wild elephants in AP. As per the schedule chalked out by the AP forest department, the mahouts and kavadis selected from Parvathipuram Manyam, Chittoor, Annamayya and Tirupati districts will attend an orientation programme in Chittoor on Saturday. Later, they will proceed to their designated elephant camps in Karnataka.
At their respective camps, the mahouts and kavadis will bond with the Kumki elephants allotted to them. They will then undergo training on various aspects of dealing with wild elephants with the help of Kumki elephants, so that the wild ones do not destroy crops or harm villagers.
AP forest officials will keep a track of the training programme to ensure that the mahouts and kavadis get a good exposure and learn the requisite skills of dealing with wild elephants.
Additional principal chief conservator of forests Shantipriya Pande said, “The orientation and training programmes for mahouts and kavadis will go on for a month. Thereafter, the trained mahouts and kavadis will return to AP along with four Kumki elephants, which will be deployed in various parts of Andhra Pradesh as per requirement.”
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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