Coimbatore forest dept drawn action plan
The Coimbatore Circle of the Forest Department has drawn up an action plan for combating the increasing man-animal conflicts during the ensuing summer season.The major man-animal conflict problem witnessed during the summer season used to be the straying of wild elephants into human habitations along the fringe areas of the forest in search of food and water. During these conflicts there were stray cases of persons being trampled to death and many cases of the elephants indulging in crop raid leaving behind a trail of destruction in farmlands.Talking, the Conservator of Forests, Coimbatore Circle, P.C. Tyagi, said that the action plan would keep the Department fully equipped and in a state of readiness to react to conflict situations with out loss of time. District Forest Officer, I. Anwardeen and his team along with the forest officials have already done a mapping and study of the forest areas in Coimbatore and the mapping done with the help of Geographical Information System (GIS) included identification of conflict prone pockets.On the proactive side, the District Forest Officer would have his teams with rich experience ready at strategic range offices for handling the situation instantly. The problem would be pre-empted by having habitat improvement programmes by ensuring increasing availability of fodder and water by reviving the natural water resources and by renovating the artificial water sources.
In addition, Mr.Anwardeen and his team would carry out a sustained campaign to educate the farming community along the fringe areas of the forest to resort to suitable cropping pattern by avoiding crops that would lure elephants. Improvements to elephant corridors were also being planned before the summer sets in next year. On the reactive side, the Department was already on the job of getting a lorry ready at a cost of Rs 10 lakhs for transportation of kumkis from the elephant camp at the Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary at Top Slip near Pollachi.Lorry The body building for the specially designed truck was in final stages with the State Transport Corporation at Pollachi.
The lorry would be used for transporting the kumkis without loss of time, since most of the truck owners were reluctant to transport elephants and the officials in search of a willing truck owner used to suffer loss of time.Based on the GIS mapping, the authorities have identified four to five places across the district, where the kumkis would be positioned and these places would have enough facilities for the elephants, their mahouts and cavadis, he said.
