COIMABTORE: Tension prevailed in Gudalur after villagers laid siege to the forest range office on Thursday, protesting the forest department’s decision to halt the installation of solar-powered fencing to deter wild elephants.
Farmers from Srimadurai panchayat, situated on the fringes of the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR), had pooled funds to install an eight-kilometre-long solar fence across their farmlands to prevent frequent crop damage by elephants and other wildlife.
Forest officials, however, halted the work at Vadavayal two days ago, leading to a standoff. The department maintained that the proposed fencing could obstruct traditional elephant corridors and potentially push the animals into human settlements, escalating conflict.
Angered by the move, villagers marched to Gudalur, raising slogans and staging a sit-in outside the forest range office. District Forest Officer N Venkatesh Prabhu held talks with the protesters and assured them that a field inspection would be conducted and permission granted if their proposal was found feasible.
Following the assurance, the villagers dispersed but warned that they would resume their agitation if approval was denied. In another wildlife-related incident, an elephant strayed out of the forest area and attempted to enter a house in search of food in the Coimbatore outskirts on Wednesday night.
CCTV footage of the incident shows the elephant approaching the entrance of a house owned by Karthikeyan at Varappalayam near Thadagam, along the foothills of the Western Ghats. When the dogs began to bark continuously, the family members turned on the lights, prompting the elephant to retreat.