Elephant population down in TN: Anbarasan

Quoting media reports on electrocution and poaching cases, the DMK legislator urged the authorities for more protective measures to conserve the pachyderm population.

Responding to this, Forest Minister Dindigul Srinivasan termed the MLA’s speech as baseless and said that the Elephant populations were subjected to increase and decrease due to their migration pattern. The Minister also denied that there was high incidence of poaching wild animals in the State.

Participating in the debate, DMK leader Duraimurugan said that he has been personally suffering from the frequent stray of elephants from Andhra forests into his farmlands located on the borders of Vellore district. He also asked the Forest Department officials in the assembly to acknowledge his view. To this the Forest Minister Srinivasan advised the DMK leader not to raise crops that attract jumbos.

The DMK MLA Anbarasan also complained that the State was suffering from high mortality rate of teak and eucalyptus plantations raised by Forest Department. He also said that the farmers were affected in several districts due to the crop raiding wild boars.

He also urged steps to curb the growing menace of pigs in his Kancheepuram district. Anbarasan also noted that the deaths of elephants due to electrocution and train accidents were on the surge and demanded conservation efforts to protect the jumbos.

To this CM Edappadi K Palaniswami replied that the State was compensating those affected in wildlife encounters through adequate compensation and said that the menace of stray animals was also monitored by the State foresters. Crop damages are also evaluated for adequate compensation, the CM said.