Concerns over reopening of abandoned road used once by poachers, timber smugglers in the Nilgiris

UDHAGAMANDALAM

A disused road running through a critical elephant habitat from Kil Kotagiri in the Nilgiris to Sirumugai in Coimbatore, which was once used by poachers and for smuggling forest timber, is again under the spotlight.

Recent efforts to clear the road of weeds by the Forest Department has raised concerns among activists that the road may be reopened for members of the public. However, for the locals, the road would be a crucial link and drastically reduce travel time.

The road from Vakkanamaram, a remote tribal hamlet located along the Nilgiris-Coimbatore border, connects to Sirumugai in Coimbatore district. It was once known to have been used by forest brigand Veerappan to smuggle wood and ivory from the Nilgiris.

According to A. Bhoopathy, a naturalist from Kotagiri, the road was in use around 30 years ago for smuggling timber from inside tea estates and forests in Kil Kotagiri.

“The road cuts through a very important elephant habitat which is also home to leopards, tigers and rare and endangered birds as well as highly coveted forest timber,” said Mr. Bhoopathy, adding any attempt to re-open the road would only contribute to an increase in illegal timber felling and smuggling, poaching and a surge in real estate in the area.

The region lies in the intersection of important wildlife corridors in the Nilgiris, Coimbatore, the northeastern slopes of the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve and Thengumarahada and the Bhavani Sagar region. For local people, reopening the road would be a boon.

V. Sivaraj, an adivasi resident of Vakkanamaram, who is part of the labor force employed to clear the road of weeds and fallen trees, said he was told by the Forest Department that the road is to be reopened. “If the road is reopened, residents from around 10 tribal hamlets will stand to benefit,” he said.