Rogue elephants still roaming around Thadagam valley

Coimbatore: Despite mounting pressure from farmers who has been seeking respite from two rogue elephants in Thadagam valley, the forest department is in no hurry to capture the elephants as it had a bitter experience in the past. The department is to seek opinion from farmers, wildlife activists and experts on the issue before taking a final call. During a grievance meeting in the city on Friday, a group of farmers raised their demand of translocating the elephants – Chinna Thambi and Vinayaka – as the damage caused by them continue despite deploying four kumkis to drive them deep into the forests. The farmers demanded a solution both from district collector TN Hariharan and district forest officer (DFO) D Venkatesh. After consulting with his superiors, the DFO asked the farmers to participate in a meeting at his office on Sunday to share their opinions on this issue with officials from the forest department and veterinary doctors. The forest department has assured to take a final call within a week after the meeting, announced the district collector which made the farmers to disperse with hope. “The district collector had written to chief wildlife warden TP Ragunath requesting him to grant permission to translocate the elephants. He had also assured that the elephant menace would be solved by November 25, but nothing has changed. In the last four months, the death toll has increased to seven in the region,” district secretary of the Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam P Kandasamy said. “Why does the department remain silent when the death toll and damage caused by the elephants are increasing every other day,” he questioned. The department is afraid to answer wildlife activists and NGOs if some untoward incidents takes place while translocating the elephants, he said. “For one last time, we believe the words of officials. If no action was taken, then we will act differently,” he warned. “The department has been taking actions to control the damage caused by the wild elephants. The chief wildlife warden has granted permission to translocate the elephant, as well. But, we do not want to act in hurry. We have sought opinion from farmers, wildlife activists and experts,” chief conservator of forest (CCF) of Coimbatore circle Deepak Srivastava said. “In 2017, when the department was translocating a wild elephant, Madukkarai Maharajan, it died. We do not want a similar situation to arise,” he said. Meanwhile, he has sought a report pertaining to the damage caused by the elephants after the deployment of kumkis to access the behavior of the elephants. In the first week of December, an elephant expert would land in Coimbatore to study the behavior of the wild elephants and recommend a suitable solution, he added.

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