Former minister SP Velumani seeks steps to prevent jumbo intrusions
Velumani sought to remind the state government of the steps taken during the AIADMK regime to prevent negative interactions in his Thondamuthur constituency
S P Velumani
COIMBATORE: Former AIADMK Minister SP Velumani on Monday petitioned District Collector Pavankumar G Giriyappanavar seeking immediate steps to prevent the intrusion of wild elephants.
Referring to the incident of a 60-year-old tribal man from a village near Thondamuthur, who was trampled to death by a wild elephant while returning after visiting a temple a week ago and another elderly man injured in a separate attack near Narasipuram, Velumani sought to remind the state government of the steps taken during the AIADMK regime to prevent negative interactions in his Thondamuthur constituency.
“In our AIADMK regime, trenches were dug along the forest boundary to prevent elephants from straying out. They are now filled with mud, resulting in elephants being able to cross over into villages easily. Despite allocating Rs one crore from the MLA fund to erect solar fencing in vulnerable villages like Karadimadai, Vellimalaipattinam and Semmedu located abutting forest areas, nothing has yet materialised. Even the number of anti-poaching watchers is inadequate,” he said to the media, after submitting the petition.
Pointing out that a committee of two Madras High Court Judges Justices N Sathish Kumar and D Bharatha Chakravarthy along with amici curiae and Special Government Pleader are scheduled to inspect Thondamuthur region of Coimbatore on 5 September towards erecting a steel wire rope fence to mitigate human elephant conflict, the AIADMK leader insisted the district administration to explain to the committee on the rising conflicts and erect steel wire rope fence.
Further, Velumani also demanded that the district administration resume heart surgeries at Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH). “Advanced equipment was bought during the AIADMK regime to perform heart surgeries, which has now been stopped. People from the Nilgiris, Tirupur, Erode, and Coimbatore districts were affected due to a lack of facilities,” he added.
The AIADMK leader also opposed the dumping of garbage brought from neighbouring districts in the Vellalore dump yard, a hike in property tax, water tax and UGD deposit charges, the complete Vellalore bus terminus project, and sought to speed up other development works.
