MYSURU: With cases of elephant deaths increasing due to consumption of contaminated water, the Forest Department is taking measures to combat water scarcity inside forests.
As the river is completely dry in many parts of M M Hills and in Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, the Forest
Department has dug temporary waterholes along the river bed to quench the thirst of wild animals.
Keen on studying the utilisation of these waterholes, the authorities have fixed cameras to record the movement of animals. There are reports that tigers are quenching their thirst in temporary waterholes at Garikekande on Palar river. This has encouraged forest officials to dig more such waterholes, hoping that it would stop wild animals from straying into villages or consume contaminated water from dried-up water sources.
There are also reports that the spotted deer in Hugyam in Kollegal taluk are entering villages looking for water in concrete tanks constructed near houses. These deer entering bylanes of villages have also become a concern for officials as they can be attacked by dogs or poached.
Cauvery wildlife sanctuary DCF P Ramesh Kumar said they are drilling borewells and are using mobile pumps to fill tanks inside the forest. Stating that the solar pumps costing `8-10 lakh can be used at only one point, he clarified that they are not going to create new tanks, but rejuvenate existing ones.
Fearing that the situation would further worsen in a month, he said they have come out with an action plan to address the grim situation inside the forest and ensure wild animals do not stray into human habitat.
M M Hills DCF Malathi said the digging of temporary waterholes along the river bed has been a major relief as a good number of wild animals are drinking water from these holes.