Tamil Nadu

Wild jumbos damage coconut saplings in Karamadai

Express News Service

COIMBATORE: A herd of three wild elephants strayed into a coconut grove at Athimathiyanur village in Karamadai on Sunday night and damaged more than 50 saplings. This is the second such incident in the grove in two months.

The incident came to light on Monday morning when the farm owner A Ganesha Murthy visited the place. Ganesha Murthy informed Karamadai forest range officials who carried out an inspection and, based on footprints, confirmed that the damage was caused by three elephants.

Ganesha Murthy told TNIE, "On December 6 and 7 last year, a herd of 15 elephants damaged several Papaya trees that were cultivated in about two acres. I lost Rs 1.5 lakh then. I applied for compensation to the Karamadai forest range office, but there has been no response yet.”

His wife Rani said the family is unable to repay the loan taken from a private bank in Mettupalayam.

"We hoped to clear the dues by selling papayas and coconut. However, our dream has shattered as the animals damaged everything we had. We have installed solar fencing, but the animals entered the farm from a nearby forest, which is located about 300-metres away.” The couple has requested the department to provide them with compensation to tide over their financial crisis.

Karamadai Forest Range Officer EN Manokaran said patrol teams have been monitoring the area along the Karamadai forest but did not receive information about the elephant intrusion in the grove. About compensation, Manokaran said they are issuing compensation based on a seniority basis and Ganesha Murthy’s compensation would be released soon.

DFO TK Ashok Kumar told TNIE that they have received funds from the State government and would be releasing compensation soon to the applicants. Further, he said the department has sent a proposal to the government seeking permission for purchase more vehicles for monitoring wild animal movement.

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