CHENNAI : After an ‘alarming’ 86 deer and blackbuck deaths reported last year, IIT Madras has managed to bring down the number by two-thirds this year. Till September 2018, only 30 deaths have been reported.
The Forest Department has revealed this information in a reply to an RTI application filed by animal welfare activist Antony C Rubin. Of the total deaths, 29 were spotted deer and one blackbuck.
“The National Green Tribunal has issued a stern warning to IIT Madras to take appropriate measures to minimise wildlife deaths, and things seem to be improving going by the numbers,” said Rubin.
Meanwhile, the postmortem reports of four animals which died this year suggest the main reason is “multiple punctured wounds with hemorrhage” indicating dog bite.
When contacted, IIT Madras director Bhaskar Ramamurthi told Express that stray dogs continue to remain a challenge to save the wildlife on campus. “To control the population of stray dogs inside the campus, ABC programme is in effect. The stray dogs are being neutered and vaccinated with the help of Blue Cross. However, if attacks of deer and blackbuck, particularly fawns and injured animals, by dogs is to be reduced, some additional measures may be needed for which authorisation does not exist,” he said.
Meanwhile, polythene bags and garbage from all zones of the campus — residential, academic and hostels — are collected, segregated, and sent to recyclers. The garbage that is unfit for recycling is taken to Perungudi dumping. Garbage collections bins designed to be monkey proof are installed all over the campus. “We fabricate standard garbage bins in our workshops.
Whatever garbage monkeys manage to access, they strew them around the garbage bin, and deer too gain access to discarded food, if any. We work constantly to improve our garbage bin design,” IIT Madras said in the compliance report submitted to the forest department.
In addition, IIT Madras has installed many speed breakers, displayed warning sign boards indicating ‘animal’ and ‘observe caution’ and ‘drive safely’ inside the campus and instructing the visitors to adhere to the speed limits at the time of issuing of visitor’s pass at various entry gates. Vehicular accidents, including those involving animals, have come down significantly.