K A Shaji, TNN | Mar 12, 2013
COIMBATORE: IT'S a problem few Indian cities have to face and it's only likely to increase in the coming years. As the city grew in the last decade, residential colonies have sprouted in the close vicinity of the forests of the Western Ghats. These residential pockets are far too close to the jungles through which the traditional migratory paths of wild elephants that travel between the Silent Valley in Kerala and Sathyamangalam forests on the Eastern Ghats. Confused jumbos often stray into human habitations resulting in panic, widespread destruction of property and loss of lives.
Statistics with the forest department reveals that 81 people have been trampled to death by wild elephants since 2011 in the Coimbatore region. Colonies on the forest fringes including Kovaipudur, Madukarai, Thondamuthur, Ettimadai, Siruvani, Narsipuram, Boluvampatti, Maruthamalai, Vadavalli, Thudiyalur and Periyanaickenpalayam live in fear of elephant attacks. Unfortunately, these are the fringe areas of Coimbatore where many of new middle classes are headed to in search of homes as property prices skyrocket in the inner city areas.
Human-animal conflict is likely to be a major cause of worry for city fathers as Coimbatore expands in the next decade, according to urban planners and environmentalists. "Forest department is undertaking many steps including digging elephant proof trenches, creating fodder banks within the forests and establishing kumki camps to minimize the impact of elephant attacks. But they are unlikely to be effective in the wake of organised and systematic encroachment on forest lands by the super rich. Traditional migratory paths are getting blocked and habitats are getting disturbed. Regulating construction on forest areas ought to be the top priority to minimize elephant attacks,'' says K Mohanraj of Tamil Nadu Green Movement.
Illegal constructions are dime a dozen in the forest fringes in violation of laws. Environmentalists say this is because most of the activity has been sanctioned by politicians and bureaucrats. While small scale farmers who use torches and stones to scare elephants from their fields face flak for living in proximity to jungles, large scale violations by religious and social groups are ignored, they say. "The issue of construction in the traditional elephant migratory corridors must be addressed urgently as it is a major factor that contributes to human-elephant conflict in Coimbatore,'' says G Sivasubramanian, assistant manager, Western Ghats Landscape Programme under World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-India. Elephant habitat in Coimbatore region is under threat from these development activities. "The issues concerning forests and wildlife in Coimbatore region is unique because 70% of the forests here are in hill slopes. It is a narrow corridor that connects Sathyamangalam forest and the Silent Valley in the neighbouring Palakkad district, which is the traditional migratory path for elephants. Any disturbance leads to elephants venturing out of the forest,'' adds Sivasubramanian.
According to Mohanraj, over 30 high profile institutions including private universities, research centres, ashrams, schools and even a factory has come up in the region without the approval of the Hill Area Conservation Authority. All of them have been built on patta land right on elephants' migratory corridor. There are over 190 brick kilns in the active migratory corridor in the Thadagam valley.
Now, realtors too are active in the hills close to Coimbatore eying land to make a bargain out of the city's rapid expansion. Traditional farmers are selling off farmland. Big mansions and other buildings are coming up and the new entrants lack the skills to co-exist with wild elephants, green activists say. In Kovaipudur-Madukarai region, locals blame a huge housing complex under construction for disrupting the elephant migratory path and inviting the fury of elephants on locals.
The erratic monsoon and spread of invasive weeds have affected the food security of elephants within the forests. "Elephants behaviour has changed over the years as they are stressed out due to constant human interference in what was once their territory. These issues require not just forest department's efforts but other departments including agriculture, revenue, highways, electricity, mining and police should also pitch in to resolve the problem,'' argues Sivasubramanian.
Tribal rights activists and scholar C R Bijoy wants the forest department also under the scanner. He argues that "large-scale clearance of natural forests initially by forest department to plant silver oaks, eucalyptus, teak and acacia also contributed to the situation apart from invasion by weeds like parthenium and lantana". The ban by forest department on harvesting bamboo by tribals led to their natural death as those people had ensured regeneration in the past. Big estates have cleared forests and these all have led to the depletion of fodder for elephants. The forest department's use of tamarind, jaggery, salt etc to attract elephants for tourists and later by resorts also resulted in a situation where elephants raid houses in search of these, says Bijoy.
According to forest department, 58 villages on the outskirts of the city face threat from elephants. The issue requires long-term and short-term strategies. Hill and forest areas must be exempted from construction activities and efforts are needed to reinstate the migratory paths. Maximum disturbances to elephants must be avoided, say forest officials. Only a coordinated action involving different governmental agencies can ensure tough action against violators, officials argue.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/coimbatore/Call-of-the-wild/articleshow/18917197.cms
COIMBATORE: IT'S a problem few Indian cities have to face and it's only likely to increase in the coming years. As the city grew in the last decade, residential colonies have sprouted in the close vicinity of the forests of the Western Ghats. These residential pockets are far too close to the jungles through which the traditional migratory paths of wild elephants that travel between the Silent Valley in Kerala and Sathyamangalam forests on the Eastern Ghats. Confused jumbos often stray into human habitations resulting in panic, widespread destruction of property and loss of lives.
Statistics with the forest department reveals that 81 people have been trampled to death by wild elephants since 2011 in the Coimbatore region. Colonies on the forest fringes including Kovaipudur, Madukarai, Thondamuthur, Ettimadai, Siruvani, Narsipuram, Boluvampatti, Maruthamalai, Vadavalli, Thudiyalur and Periyanaickenpalayam live in fear of elephant attacks. Unfortunately, these are the fringe areas of Coimbatore where many of new middle classes are headed to in search of homes as property prices skyrocket in the inner city areas.
Human-animal conflict is likely to be a major cause of worry for city fathers as Coimbatore expands in the next decade, according to urban planners and environmentalists. "Forest department is undertaking many steps including digging elephant proof trenches, creating fodder banks within the forests and establishing kumki camps to minimize the impact of elephant attacks. But they are unlikely to be effective in the wake of organised and systematic encroachment on forest lands by the super rich. Traditional migratory paths are getting blocked and habitats are getting disturbed. Regulating construction on forest areas ought to be the top priority to minimize elephant attacks,'' says K Mohanraj of Tamil Nadu Green Movement.
Illegal constructions are dime a dozen in the forest fringes in violation of laws. Environmentalists say this is because most of the activity has been sanctioned by politicians and bureaucrats. While small scale farmers who use torches and stones to scare elephants from their fields face flak for living in proximity to jungles, large scale violations by religious and social groups are ignored, they say. "The issue of construction in the traditional elephant migratory corridors must be addressed urgently as it is a major factor that contributes to human-elephant conflict in Coimbatore,'' says G Sivasubramanian, assistant manager, Western Ghats Landscape Programme under World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-India. Elephant habitat in Coimbatore region is under threat from these development activities. "The issues concerning forests and wildlife in Coimbatore region is unique because 70% of the forests here are in hill slopes. It is a narrow corridor that connects Sathyamangalam forest and the Silent Valley in the neighbouring Palakkad district, which is the traditional migratory path for elephants. Any disturbance leads to elephants venturing out of the forest,'' adds Sivasubramanian.
According to Mohanraj, over 30 high profile institutions including private universities, research centres, ashrams, schools and even a factory has come up in the region without the approval of the Hill Area Conservation Authority. All of them have been built on patta land right on elephants' migratory corridor. There are over 190 brick kilns in the active migratory corridor in the Thadagam valley.
Now, realtors too are active in the hills close to Coimbatore eying land to make a bargain out of the city's rapid expansion. Traditional farmers are selling off farmland. Big mansions and other buildings are coming up and the new entrants lack the skills to co-exist with wild elephants, green activists say. In Kovaipudur-Madukarai region, locals blame a huge housing complex under construction for disrupting the elephant migratory path and inviting the fury of elephants on locals.
The erratic monsoon and spread of invasive weeds have affected the food security of elephants within the forests. "Elephants behaviour has changed over the years as they are stressed out due to constant human interference in what was once their territory. These issues require not just forest department's efforts but other departments including agriculture, revenue, highways, electricity, mining and police should also pitch in to resolve the problem,'' argues Sivasubramanian.
Tribal rights activists and scholar C R Bijoy wants the forest department also under the scanner. He argues that "large-scale clearance of natural forests initially by forest department to plant silver oaks, eucalyptus, teak and acacia also contributed to the situation apart from invasion by weeds like parthenium and lantana". The ban by forest department on harvesting bamboo by tribals led to their natural death as those people had ensured regeneration in the past. Big estates have cleared forests and these all have led to the depletion of fodder for elephants. The forest department's use of tamarind, jaggery, salt etc to attract elephants for tourists and later by resorts also resulted in a situation where elephants raid houses in search of these, says Bijoy.
According to forest department, 58 villages on the outskirts of the city face threat from elephants. The issue requires long-term and short-term strategies. Hill and forest areas must be exempted from construction activities and efforts are needed to reinstate the migratory paths. Maximum disturbances to elephants must be avoided, say forest officials. Only a coordinated action involving different governmental agencies can ensure tough action against violators, officials argue.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/coimbatore/Call-of-the-wild/articleshow/18917197.cms
