COIMBATORE: A day after inspecting the banana plantation at Vedar Colony in Chikkadasampalayam, where a wild tusker was electrocuted to death, officials of the Coimbatore Forest Division are planning to write to Collector Pavankumar G Giriyappanavar, seeking to stop dumping of garbage and take steps to clear the existing dump along the forest boundary. The entire solid waste generated by the local panchayat is being dumped at Vedar Colony, barely 150 metres from the forest boundary of the Sirumugai Forest Range.
The garbage has been attracting wild animals, including elephants, sloth bears and spotted deer, which venture out of the forest in search of food, drawn by the smell of the waste.
"The garbage has been dumped in the open over an area of more than 40 cents, and this was noticed during our field inspection on Monday. Wild boars are visiting the site in large numbers at present. We will be sending letters to the Chikkadasampalayam Panchayat seeking immediate clearance of the waste for the welfare of wild animals and to avoid dumping here after. There is also a high possibility of sloth bears and spotted deer being attracted to the dump in the future," said District Forest Officer (DFO) N Vengatesh Prabhu.
The Sirumugai Forest Range staff have been instructed to coordinate with the panchayat to ensure residents do not dump waste in the open. Panchayat officials have also been urged to remove the accumulated garbage at the earliest.
Forest officials recalled the Maruthamalai incident in 2022, when plastic waste was found in the dung of wild elephants after the Somayampalayam Panchayat began dumping garbage in the open along the forest boundary. Following directions from the Coimbatore Collector, the panchayat stopped dumping waste at the site on May 19, 2025, soon after a video of a pregnant mother elephant feeding at the dump yard went viral. The elephant later died, and wildlife activists were shocked when plastic bags were found in its intestines during the postmortem.
Forest officials also expressed concern over the electrocution of the tusker, stating that the grove owner and a labourer, who were produced before the Mettupalayam court on Tuesday, had illegally supplied AC power to a solar fence to protect a banana plantation that was only a few months old. Officials said the incident highlighted how the protection of a young crop had been prioritised over the safety of wild elephants, which are invaluable to forest conservation.
"The 25-year-old wild elephant that was electrocuted may have been attracted not only by the banana plantation but also by the smell of the garbage," said the forest official.
When contacted AD Panchayat Senthil Vel said that he will instruct the Block Development Officer (BDO) and steps will be taken to clear the garbage at the earliest.
