Island. One is at Palvelicham managed by the District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC), Wayanad functioning under the 5th respondent and the other at pakkom managed by the PakkomKuruva Vana Samrakshana Samithi consisting of local people mainly Tribals. The Eco-tourism Centre was opened mainly for improving the livelihood of the local Tribes by generating employment. During 2004, the Forest Department permitted the DTPC to start an entry point at the river bank of Kabani, adjoining to Kuruva Island. Later on, the DTPC has managed to acquire the river bank on the periphery of Kuruva Island and Palvelicham from the Panchayth authorities and established Ticket Counter, Amenity Centre and lodging facility. They have engaged tourism guides and started facilities for rafting in Kabani River for the tourists into Kuruva Island. Subsequently, this area on the Palvelicham side has developed into a tourism centre with the establishment of new hotels, restaurants etc. on the various farm lands. The visitors entering from Pakkom side is managed by the members of Pakkom Kuruva VSS. The fee collected from visitors is used to pay remuneration to the guides, who are the members of the VSS. It is submitted that dried bamboo fence are erected along the trek path as a temporary measure to prevent the visitors from entering into the interior forests. This is done for the safety of visitors and to avoid the disturbance by human beings to wild elephants and also to facilitate free movement of wild animals in the interior parts of the forests of this area. This is erected purely on a temporary as well as eco-friendly basis and this has not in any way obstructed the free movement of the animals as stated in the writ petition. The Forest Department has also taken adequate remedial measures to reduce the human-animal conflict issues prevailing in the District to the minimum. As such, the incidents of human-animal conflict cannot be directly attributed to increase in the number of visitors.
