COIMBATORE: Ahead of the Assembly elections, human-animal conflict in Western belt of Tamil Nadu has been pitched as a powerplay by enviromentalists and public. Urging political leaders to address this issue in their manifestos, they have cited the steadily increasing cases of wild animal attacks and the resultant deaths.
Environmentalists complain that most political parties remained oblivious to the numerous wild animal attacks in the districts of Coimbatore, Nilgiris, Erode, and Krishnagiri.
A total of 81 human lives have been lost in the last five years since 2016 due to wild elephant attack, according to forest department sources. On average, 16 people die every year due to animal attacks.
Among the seven forest ranges in the district, 29 people were killed in the Boluvampatti forest range, and 23 in the Coimbatore forest range in the last 5 years. Only one death occurred in the Karamadai forest range in 2018 in the last five years.
Request to political parties
Environmentalists and public have urged the government to act to resolve the issue. They also opined that political parties should consider the issue when preparing election manifesto and implement it once they come to power.
Environmentalists lament that whenever political leaders visit Coimbatore and Nilgiris for campaigning, they give assuramce to develop infrastructure and medical facilities, apart from offering freebies to the people, but do little to address the human-animal conflict.
Authorities have been setting up warning boards, speed-breakers, and traffic signals to prevent road accidents, but did not take any concrete steps to prevent human deaths due to wild animal attacks.
Speaking to TNIE, K Kalidass, an environmentalist in Osai in Coimbatore, said he was not sure if politicians were aware of the man-animal conflicts and the means to address them scientifically.
“None of the election promises addresses man-animal conflict. Farmers have been repeatedly requesting the Forest Department for compensation for crop damages due to wild animals, but they have not received anything yet. Forest department, along with the agriculture and revenue departments, should simplify the procedures to apply for crop loss,” he added.
Environmentalists’ take
Kalidass opined, “ Separate law should be implemented to protect elephant corridors and migratory paths in private land. Centre and State governments should recognise the area frequented by elephants as migratory paths and corridors and it should give legal status.”
Speaking about animal attacks in the Nilgiris, Kalidass said, “Janmam, a forest land spread over 22,000 acre in Gudalur forest division, was encroached upon by some leading names in the tea and coffee producing business, and also by the public. Even the State government-owned TANTEA should be given back to the forest for free movement of wild elephants.”
N Mohanraj of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) told TNIE that the forest department should take steps to confine elephants to forests by setting up a solar fence and elephant proof trench (EPT), adding that elephants should not be allowed to move out of the forest, and preventing measures should be maintained properly.
“Apart from the forest, people living near the forest areas should also cooperate for this effort since the forest department can not do this work alone,” he further said.
Talking about increase in tiger population, Mohanraj said, “There are a total of 600 to 800 tigers living in Western ghats and in the coming years when they become old, they would start searching for easy prey in the forest boundaries. There is a high chance that the animals may turn into man-eaters. We have to take a decision on a long-term basis to address this issue.”
He added that politicians should take up the issue seriously and set up an expert committee consisting of veterinarians and tribals to track wild animals such as elephants and tigers that are problematic to humans. “The committee should also take decision on whether elephants and tigers which are causing problems should be captured or tranquillised,” he said.