# Athirappilly elephant corridors to be restored, says Kerala minister 2026-08-19T14:56:58+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Kerala Forest Minister Shibu Baby John has said traditional elephant corridors in the Athirappilly forest range will be restored to reduce conflict between people and wild elephants. He said routes used by elephants while searching for water had been blocked, worsening encounters with local communities. More than 100 forest officials and watchers are taking part in a drive to push 18 elephants back into the forest. Separately, a Forest department rapid action team and tourists escaped an elephant near Ezhuchani bridge on Ezhattumukham Plantation road. The elephant chased the department vehicle for nearly 200 metres before it crashed into a culvert while reversing. The animal then moved away. The Minister made the announcement after inaugurating renovated facilities at the Athirappilly tourism centre on August 19. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Elephant corridors work only when land use, tourism access and settlement activity are managed across the animals’ movement routes. In Kerala, the Forest department must balance habitat protection with the rights and safety of communities living beside protected forests. Restoration can involve removing obstructions, securing land and restricting risky human access, rather than simply opening a passage. The immediate test will be whether conflict falls after the routes are identified and protected, and whether the department publishes a timetable for that work. ## Coverage - thehindu.com Reports the ministeru2019s plan alongside operational risks and the elephant encounter This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Athirappilly, Ezhattumukham, Kerala forest department, Shibu Baby John Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/athirappilly-elephant-corridors-to-be-restored-says-kerala-minister/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/athirappilly-elephant-corridors-to-be-restored-says-kerala-minister/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/