Seed ball rain in Kerala to fight man-animal conflict

IMAGINE lakhs of seed balls being air-dropped from the sky, or thousands joining hands to sow crores of seeds across the length and breadth of Kerala.

- ANIL S @T'Puram

In a first, the forest department is set to launch a massive initiative across the state to restore Kerala's natural ecosystem and mitigate human-wildlife conflict.

To be christened Vithoott, the soon-to-begin initiative is to be implemented with people's participation. The department, which is on the defensive over increasing incidents of wildlife conflicts and human deaths, also plans to win back the masses' trust with the move. To be executed somewhat on the lines of a literary campaign, Vithoot has been visualized as a mass movement, where people from different walks of life including school and college students, would come together to identify, prepare and sow seeds. Once the monsoon season sets in, sowing would begin.