COIMBATORE: Members of the Tamil Nadu Farmers Association have threatened to kill animals entering their farmlands if the forest department does not take steps to prevent intrusion of wild animals.
T Venugopal, president of the association, said this during a protest at Jothipuram near Periyanacikenpalayam, after one person was killed and two persons were injured here last week, “The officials of Coimbatore forest division should come up with new ways to prevent elephant intrusion since their earlier method of maintaining Elephant Proof Trenches (EPT) and Solar Fence have not worked out well as the elephants continue to enter and destroy crops every day. Over the last decade, many people have quit farming due to frequent intrusion.”
“We have not destroyed forest land and not occupied the elephant pathway. However, the forest department officials keep saying that the elephant pathway has been encroached on by us. Like Railways, the forest department should also hand over the task of monitoring wild elephants to private players,” he added. “The increase in wild animal population poses a threat to motorists using roads near forest areas as animals attack their vehicles. We are also vexed about getting compensation from the department since the staff has been visiting the damaged land for namesake,” said Venugopal. The association has decided to meet the CM and Governor RN Ravi in February and raise the issues with them.