DHARMAPURI: Farmers in Palacode appealed to the forest officer to improve efforts to keep elephants away from villages. Farmers stated, a wild elephant had killed a cow in the early hours of Wednesday and damaged crops in the area.
Over the past few months, a 23-year-old tusker has been causing problems in forest areas around Palacode. Initially, the tusker was accompanied by a 22-year-old makhna. But due to the Forest staff’s efforts, the makhna was tranquilized and transported to Anamalai Tiger Reserve. However, the tusker has been roaming around Palacode causing damage to crops. On Wednesday, it killed a cattle which was tied near a cultivation land at Echampallam village.
S Kannan, a farmer from Palacode, told TNIE, “For the past few months there has been increasing elephant herd movement. However, they usually do not pose any threat. But these single elephants are treacherous, they come into farmlands close to the villages and feed on crops causing large-scale damages. We urge the Forest team to dig trenches or set up other measures to keep away elephants from villages.”
A farmer from Papparapatti R Chinnasamy said, “This tusker has been causing problems since January. It has been camping here for two months and now it has started attacking livestock. It must be taken away from here immediately for the welfare of farmers and the safety of the people.”
Palacode ranger Natraj said, “So far, the tusker has not been a problem. We believe it has inadvertently come across the cow and attacked it. The department is monitoring the elephant movement and ensuring efforts to prevent injury to both people and livestock. So far, no appeal has been made by the farmers to relocate the tusker. If an appeal is made, we would forward their request and take the necessary steps.”