COIMBATORE: The residents are heaving a sigh of relief as the incidents of wild elephants raiding PDS shops have come down drastically, thanks to the authorities concerned for replacing the shops, built mostly with mud, with shipping containers at Muthumudi and Thaimudi estates in Manompoly forest range in Valparai plateau.
The two cargo containers, worth Rs 9 lakh, were sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
“Containers were made of steel and difficult for the elephants to damage. Even the smell of rice and dal won’t permeate outside the container. This is a pilot project, and based on its success, it will be implemented in other areas too,” said an official from ATR.
According to official sources, though the elephants had visited the areas a couple of times in the last two months, the animals had returned without consuming rice and dal as they were unable to break into the heavy steel structures. “Moreover, many times, our staff prevented the elephants due to the presence of the smart virtual fencing, which is another initiative to mitigate the conflict,” they said.
Smart Virtual Fencing System is a solar-powered device that uses infrared sensors to detect the intrusion of elephants.
“We have to wait and see for a few more months for the exact results, as the elephant migration comes to peak soon. Apart from Muthumudi and Thaimudi estates, Manikka estate, Stanmore, Cincona, and Rayana divisions are the other key places where the elephants raid frequently,” the official pointed out.
A senior official at the ATR said, “We have also given instructions to salespersons managing the ration shops in the elephant-prone areas to distribute the rice, dal, etc within a day instead of storing them in the shop for days.”
Sources at the Valparai civil supplies department told TNIE they have a total of 43 PDS shops across Valparai and there are 15,000 ration cards. They said they are looking for sponsorship to place similar cargo containers.
“We are planning to send a report to the Pollachi sub collector seeking sponsorship for other PDS shops. We are studying the area and planning to give priority to the areas in which the elephants are frequenting,” they added.