4 kumkis deployed to drive away jumbos spoiling farmlands

The kumkis - Kaleem, Suyambu, Mariappan and Venkatesh from Kozhikamuthi elephant camp near Topslip - reached Anaimalai on Thursday. On Friday, they trekked around Thekkumadai, Saralaipathi and Semmanampathi in search of the wild elephants.

“The wild jumbos couldn’t be spotted anywhere despite a day-long search. They might have sensed the presence of kumkis and stayed back in the forest cover itself. However, the kumkis will be here for a week,” said Kasilingam, Forest Ranger, Pollachi Forest Range. The kumkis were brought in after there were frequent reports on damage to crops and attacks on farmers in Pollachi and its surroundings by wild elephants.

Wild elephants were straying out of the forests and raiding plantains, corn and vegetable crops raised widely in tribal villages such as Sethumadai, Semmanampathi, Saralaipathy, Thammampathy and Chinnarupathy near Pollachi over the past few weeks.

They had also damaged coconut trees in the surrounding areas. A few days ago, a wild tusker strayed into a corn field and attacked a farmer, who was guarding the farm in Sethumadai.

On noticing the jumbo, the farmer took to his heels, but when he slipped down, the jumbo attacked him and he succumbed to injuries on the spot. In another instance, 25-year-old farmer Paramasivam managed to flee, when an elephant suddenly charged at him at Sethumadai village. Thankfully, the forest department staff arrived soon and chased away the lone tusker. Though trenches were dug up to prevent elephant intrusions, the animals managed to cross over and stray into farms by damaging the solar fences. Following frequent intrusions, the forest department staff enhanced vigil by constituting separate teams.

Still the elephant menace could not be curtailed and farmers began to raise a hue and cry while demanding a solution to the issue.

It was in this backdrop, the kumkis have been brought in and the department personnel are hopeful that they will be successful in bringing down the menace of the wild elephants.