CHENNAI: According to an RTI response from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M), 220 deer and eight endangered blackbucks have reportedly died in a span of three years between 2013 and 2016 on the campus. There would be multiple factors at play, but a section of activists fear the institute’s campus, which is home to dense forests and wildlife, might be sitting on a major environmental crisis threatening to affect its reputation of being in harmony with nature.
Antony C Rubin, animal welfare activist who accessed the information through RTI, has now knocked on the doors of the southern bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) appealing to shift cultural fests like Saarang and Shaastra, which draw large crowds, out of the IIT-M campus, besides a complete ban on non-recyclable plastic.
The bench has admitted the petition and issued notices to IIT-M, the State government, Greater Chennai Corporation, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) and State forest department for filing replies. The case is set for a July 17 hearing.
Rubin told Express that the numbers are startling. Improper disposal of solid waste is a major problem in IIT-M that attracts stray dogs, which hunt mother deer and fawns. Speeding vehicles, cultural fests with high levels of noise and concretisation of open spaces are adding to the fatalities and stress of an already crumbling ecosystem.
As per the RTI reply, IIT-M claims that only one animal has been killed in a road accident between 2013 and 2016, which was reported on September 20, 2014. However, according to an article titled “Inconvenient Truths: Oh Deer! Tackling Deer Fatalities On Campus”, published in The Fifth Estate (IIT-M’s official campus news and media body) in January 2014 alone — the month when Shaastra and Saarang are organised, 21 deer died and three were injured, of which at least two are blackbucks and one is a fawn. Importantly, three were confirmed dead by accidents. So, the data provided by the institute through RTI clearly underreports the facts on road kills.
The authors of the article also spoke on deer dying due to improper garbage disposal and how stress caused by noise pollution from the fests and the vulnerability of mothers and offspring to dogs (January is the fawning season) could cause casualties.
The activist claims that postmortem reports in cases show that sanitary napkins and condoms were found in deer stomachs. “This is as disgusting. Such things can be prevented through proper solid waste management protocols,” Rubin said.
A security official told this newspaper that at least 1,500 private vehicles enter IIT-M each day. Though speed limit is fixed within the campus, which is 35 kmph on arterial roads, 30 kmph in the school zone and 20 kmph on blind curves, private vehicles seldom follow it. Sometimes violators are caught and fined. K Geethanjali, Wildlife Warden, was not available for comment.
Dogs, monkeys to blame
IIT-M director Bhaskar Ramamurthi acknowledged that there is a problem but blamed it on dogs and monkeys for high deer fatality rate. “Stray dogs are the biggest challenge the institute is facing to protect wildlife. No fawn is able to survive. Since IIT-M is not a designated wildlife area like Guindy National Park, our hands are tied,” he rued, before admitting that the rising number of deer and blackbuck deaths is petrifying.
On the issue of solid waste management, the director said the institute has already banned plastic and there is a door to door segregation and collection mechanism in place. In hostel and residential zones, there is no problem at all. However, areas around eateries are a concern. “Visitors throw waste insensitively. Bins are toppled by monkeys, which attracts dogs and deer. Four years ago, we tried to relocate monkeys. Forest personnel came and trapped them but student groups opened the cages saying it’s not proper. There are too many issues to deal with,” he said.
He refused to accept that the cultural fest was resulting in fatalities. “Vehicular traffic is diverted and buses are used. Noise levels are kept under check. We even have a big auditorium in the deer area which is used only for the convocation. Deer pathways are identified and enough care is taken to minimise the disturbances,” he added.
Threats
According to wildlife club Prakriti, major threats leading to the decline in blackbuck population at IIT-M are...