COIMBATORE: Following frequent complaints from residents, the Coimbatore Forest Range staff killed three wild boars that had been creating a nuisance in the residential areas of PN Pudur on Monday night.
The forest staff swung into action after members of the CPI announced a protest against the Coimbatore Forest Division on July 24. Despite placing a cage, the wild boars had remained elusive for nearly a year.
Speaking to TNIE, Ward 44 Councillor C Shanthi said, "The forest department has killed only three wild boars, but around 12 to 16 wild boars, including four fully grown ones, are still roaming in the locality and creating panic among residents. Even youngsters are afraid to ride two-wheelers as the wild boars move around freely during night and day time."
According to her, there was only one wild boar in the area six years ago, but the population gradually increased to four, six, 10 and now around 16.
"We have been requesting the forest department for the past one year to capture the animals. Following the frequent entry of the wild boars, we created awareness among residents of Iswarya Nagar, Pon Nagar and Rangasamy Nagar against dumping waste in the open. Even if waste is dumped, it is cleared immediately by corporation sanitary workers," she said.
"The forest department placed a cage with garbage to attract the wild boars. Since a person has to manually close the cage door once the animals enter it, there was nobody from the forest department willing to do the job. We were also busy with the elections over the past year. After we announced the protest, the forest department killed only three wild boars and buried them at the foothills of Maruthamalai," said Shanthi, who is also the CPI branch secretary.
"We will definitely stage a protest in front of the party office at PN Pudur on Friday evening, demanding that the forest department either cull the remaining wild boars or capture and relocate them immediately by placing cages," she added