Joint patrolling of forest boundaries
Forest officials of Tamil Nadu and Kerala have decided to conduct joint patrolling of forest boundaries to prevent plundering of forest wealth, ganja cultivation, illicit distillation and other nefarious activities.District Forest Officer, Coimbatore, I. Anwardeen, along with his counterpart from the Mannarkad Division in Kerala, K.V. Uthaman, conducted joint inspection and verified forest boundaries along the Karamadai range in Tamil Nadu.Coimbatore district shares 75 km of forest boundary with the Mannarkad Division besides 15 to 20 km with the Palakkad Division.The district forest officers decided on a number of joint efforts for better management of the reserve forests, Mr. Anwardeen said.These included systematic strengthening of the patrolling mechanism along the forest boundaries, besides enhancing mutual exchange of information, communication and inputs on poachers, tree cutters, illicit distillers and ganja growers.
It was decided that range officers should meet once a month and District Forest Officers, once in three months. It was decided to conduct frequent raids.The meeting decided to organise patrolling of areas vulnerable to ganja cultivation.For quick and easier exchange of emergency alerts, it was decided to provide VHF wireless walkie-takie sets to officers of both the States along the boundaries.Copies of thematic maps on forest locations, geographical locations and resources would be exchanged for better understanding to ensure instant and swift reaction in the event of a need.The Coimbatore Forest Department is planning a similar coordination exercise with officials from the Palakkad Division shortly.
