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Tamil Nadu

Solar fencing brings down human – animal conflict

Karthik Madhavan

Sathyamangalam Forest Division takes steps to reduce threat from elephants

PHOTO: M.GOVARTHAN

Preventive measure: Solar fencing in Sathyamangalam Forest Division has considerably brought down conflict between humans and animals in the region. —

SATHYAMANGALAM: Farmer M. Subbaiyan of Ammapalayam village, near Bhavani Sagar, is a relieved man these days.

The banana farmer goes about cultivating his two acres as any other farmer and is sure that he will be able to successfully harvest the crop.

The same cannot be said of Mr. Subbaiyan until recently because he constantly feared elephant raids on his field.

“Until very recently, I was worried about my crop because elephant raids in the area were a frequent occurrence,” says the farmer.

Farmers like him in the village and neighbouring areas abutting the Vilamundi Reserve Forest in Bhavani Sagar Forest Range constantly lived under elephant threat until the Sathyamangalam Forest Division erected solar fences to ward off elephants.

District Forest Officer S. Ramasubramaniam says the Vilamundi area is important because it has a good elephant population and a number of cultivable lands in the proximity, which increases instances of animal raiding crops.

So frequent has been the elephant intrusion that people of Ammapalayam, Karithottampalayam, Chitthankuttai and other areas took to the street protesting against elephant raids.

The people also petitioned the District Collector, who directed the Forest Department officials to look in to the issue and address the people’s problem.

The Sathyamangalam Forest Division thereafter erected solar fences along the forest area for about 11 km, at Rs. 1.6 lakh a km.

Mr. Ramasubramaniam says work is on to fence another eight km in the area and adds that the work will be over by the end of the current financial year. The result of the fencing is already evident.

Farmer N. Ponnusamy of the area says ever since the Department erected fences, the instances of elephants raiding crops have come down.

“Even about four days ago, elephants attempted to raids the crops, but the fences deterred them,” he says.

The result is that more than 50 acres have become free of elephant threat.

District Forest Officer further says that in other ranges in the Sathyamangalam area, the Department has fenced 89 km.

The result of the extensive fencing is that man-animal conflict has also come down.

“Because of the man-animal conflict, eight persons lost their lives in 2007-08, but this it has come down to four,” the officer says and adds that instances of crop raids have also halved from last year’s 12.

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