COIMBATORE: The horticulture department is winding up its 122-year-old farm at Kallar in Mettupalayam, following an order by the Madras High Court, to facilitate movement of wild animals. Activists expressed happiness at the development as Kallar is an elephant corridor.
The farm, established in 1900, is spread over 21 acres and has a good number of subtropical fruit trees like litchi, mangosteen, durian and avocado besides plenty of nutmeg and jackfruit trees. It has four structures (a one-storey building and sales counters).
Kallar is an important migratory corridor in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR), which is the single largest population of Asiatic elephants. The continuous forest area falls across Kerala, TN, and Karnataka. If the connectivity is cut, there is a high chance that wild animals would divert from their natural route and stray into human habitat resulting in conflict. During a recent visit to the farm, TNIE observed presence of wild elephants.
A senior official in the Coimbatore Forest division said the high court issued the closure order a month following a visit by a five-member team of judges. He added that there is no order to close private buildings that are found in the area.
“We have recommended to horticulture department to set up the farm in Sennamalai Karadu or Rasadi near Sirumugai and officials would take a decision soon,” he said.A senior horticulture department official said over 20 staff, currently employed in Kallar, will be given jobs wherever the new farm is set up. The process would take six months to one year, he added.
Closure of the farm is a several decades old demand of wildlife activists. For exanple, in 2009, a landslide occurred inside the farm when restoration work was on, and activists appealed to the government to stop the work, but it was not heeded.
Founder of Osai, an NGO, K Kalidass said, “Kallar is a crucial elephant corridor. Though it is a heritage site, we have to leave space for the free movement of wild animals, especially elephants. This is an important step in conserving nature for wildlife. Not just shifting of government-owned property, we appeal to private building owners as well to remove the structures from the corridor.”