Barbed fences to be removed from tea plantations in Munnar to facilitate smooth passage for wild elephants

Officials and public representatives in Idukki meet to address human-elephant conflicts in Munnar by removing barrier fences.

A high-level meeting of officials and public representatives held at the Munnar UNDP Hall on Wednesday decided to identify barbed wire fencings inside tea plantations in and around Munnar that block the smooth movement of wild elephants. Because of the fences, the animals travel some distance through roads outside to get to the next plantation.

High Range Circle Chief Conservator of Forests Arun R.S. said the Forest department would soon identify the barrier fences and inform the plantation companies. “The companies have already expressed support for the efforts to mitigate human-elephant conflicts in Munnar. Once the spots are identified and the fences removed, proper movement of wild animals will be facilitated,” said the official. For long, the animals have travelled through the plantations without harming people and their dwellings.

According to officials, some wild elephant attacks occurred in Munnar while the animals were moving along the roads near the plantations. The meeting decided to empower the field officers of plantation companies as well as the panchayat ward members of the forest border panchayats of Munnar, Devikulam, Chinnakkanal, Santhanpara, Pallivasal, and Adimaly to share information of wild elephants’ location among plantation workers and local people in these panchayats. For this purpose, 12 WhatsApp groups have been set up under the Devikulam, Munnar, and Neryamangalam forest ranges under the Munnar Forest Division.

The meeting directed resort owners to avoid night safari programmes in the forest-bordering panchayats in Munnar. Night safari may result in wild elephant attacks in Munnar and Chinnakkanal. The panchayats will set up street lights in more areas. The Forest department is already monitoring wild animal movements with the assistance of drone cameras. According to officials, Idukk’s third Rapid Response Team (RRT), with 23 members, will soon start functioning.

At the meeting, the officials said that steps were on to install AI cameras under the Munnar forest division. The Mankulam Forest Division and Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Thekkady have already installed such systems. The meeting also asked the people to avoid travelling in the forest fringes at night and early morning.

Idukki MP Dean Kuriakose; District Collector Sheeba George; Devikulam MLA A. Raja; Devikulam Subcollector V.M. Jayakrishnan; and Munnar DFO Ramesh Bishnoi; among others, attended the meeting.