The increasing incidence of wildlife, especially elephants and wild boars, straying out of forest areas and causing loss of human lives and destroying crops, came up for debate yet again in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly on Wednesday. Forest Minister Dindigul C. Sreenivasan said elephants from neighbouring States kept visiting.
When DMK legislator T.M. Anbarasan (Alandur) raised the issue in the House and claimed that wild animals were destroying crops in several areas, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami intervened to say Forest Department officials have been instructed to control the menace if there were any complaints in this regard.
DMK whip R. Sakkarapani (Oddanchatram) joined the debate to claim man-animal conflict was a major issue in his constituency adjoining the Western Ghats and urged the State government to remove the elephants to sanctuaries. Forest Minister Dindigul C. Sreenivasan said steps were on to “chase” those elephants into other States.
DMK Deputy Floor Leader Duraimurugan (Katpadi) narrated a personal experience about 15 elephants from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh visiting his farm in his constituency and destroying plantations. “On the first day, they destroyed some plants and I overlooked it and it continued on the second day too. On the third day, they destroyed a lemon tree, which I have been growing for few years,” pointed out the DMK leader.
Mr. Sreenivasan said in a light vein that only because Mr. Duraimurugan has been growing tasty fodder for elephant that they kept coming to his farm. “However, we are taking steps to stop the elephants,” the Minister said.
