Elephant corridor: Villagers to relocate

Times of India
April 30, 2007
EDAYURVAYAL: More than 50 people here will move to alternative settlements to facilitate a six-km elephant corridor connecting Kerala's Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary and Brahmagiri reserve in neighbouring Karnataka.
Nine acres in the Tirunelli-Kudrakote area, where the Gowda community has been living for four generations, will be surrendered by the people to the forest department.
The alternative houses and civic facilities are being provided by New Delhi-based Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) with support from the World Land Trust and Kerala's forest department.
"This will be the first attempt in India to relocate people from a wildlife sanctuary to boost conservation efforts," said P S Easa, senior director of WTI who is spearheading the project.
Of late, human-elephant conflicts have been on the rise in the corridor and people have had to live in constant fear as pachyderms destroyed their crops and homes.