COIMBATORE: Two judges of the Madras High Court, along with the amicus curiae and officials from the Coimbatore district administration visited Devarayapuram near Thondamuthur, where a 10-km steel fence to prevent wild elephant intrusion into farm lands and human habitats has been proposed, on Friday.
Wild elephants frequently enter villages adjacent to the forest areas in the foothills of the Western Ghats in search of food and water, damaging crops and even causing deaths due to wild elephant attacks. To prevent this, steps have been taken to erect modern elephant-proof security fences for a distance of 10 km at a cost of about Rs 7 crore.
Forest department started the work of constructing this fence on a 5-km stretch from Attukal to Bommanampalayam in Coimbatore range, and a 5-km stretch from Attukal to Devarayapuram in Boluvampatti wildlife range last April.
The construction of the fence was banned after a case filed in the Madras High Court, demanding that steel wire fences should not be erected until elephant crossing routes are built. Following this, the work of constructing fences was stopped.
During the hearing of this case, a bench comprising Justices N Sathish Kumar and D Bharatha Chakravarthy had announced that they would inspect the areas where steel wire fencing would be erected.
Accordingly, the judges inspected Mettupalayam and Thondamuthur areas, and the Adhi Narayana Temple area where a steel wire fence will be erected. Forest officials explained to the judges how a steel wire fence will be erected at the foot hill and how elephant intrusion will be prevented.
Farmers and locals gathered at the spot said their livelihoods were being affected by wild animals, including wild elephants, and a fence should be constructed using railway track wires, similar to those in Karnataka. They also urged that the Wildlife Protection Act be amended to allow farmers to drive away elephants entering their farmlands. Later, a panel of judges also inspected the site of soil theft at Devarayapuram.
The judges used a drone to inspect how much soil had been removed from the forest areas, and forest officials also highlighted the areas where barbed wire fences would be erected.