COIMBATORE: Following the death of a pregnant wild elephant at the Marudhamalai foothills, which was found to have ingested plastic waste, villagers in Velliangiri are demanding action over the sanitary conditions around Poondi temple. They said the plastic and food waste attracts wild animals which, in turn, pose a threat to devotees.
Permission to visit the Velliangiri Hills is granted every year from February 1 to May 31. Devotees and mountaineers usually visit the Velliangiri Andavar temple at Poondi and climb the hills. Over eight lakh people visited the temple in the last four months, according to the HR&CE department. Since the beginning of this season, the movement of wild animals, especially wild elephants, has increased here.
The forest department has been continuously monitoring the area by deploying a unit with two kumki elephants to drive away wild elephants. However, locals and devotees alleged the dumping of waste on the temple premises and the stagnant sewage continue to attract wild animals.
M Thamaraikannan, a researcher from Tiruppur, said the worsening sanitary situation poses a threat to public health and wildlife conservation. He said, “The temple premises inside the reserve forest is being maintained without a sense of forest boundary. There is no proper sewage facility to the food donation halls, which is run by the HR&CE. They let the sewage run in the open and it remains stagnant.”
“The waste management is in the worst state, as most of the places have been dumped with food waste attracting wild animals. Stationing kumki elephants is not a solution, instead they should keep the premises clean,” Thamaraikannan added. Forest department officials said they had flagged the poor sanitary conditions with the HR&CE department several times.
The temple management should draw a protocol to manage waste generated during food donations. “The Ikkarai Boluvampatti village panchayat and district administration should take steps to keep the premises clean,” said a forest department officer.
A senior official from the HR&CE department said they have been clearing the waste daily and 20 sanitary workers have been deployed.
“There are 14 halls for food donation and waste accumulating from the hall is let into the trenches, which prevent elephant movement and works as sewage channels,” he said. He added they keep the premises clean and have been taking measures to handle sewage stagnation.