Farmers from Thadagam Valley near Coimbatore have called on the Forest Department to intensify night patrols following regular crop damage caused by wild elephants.

On Saturday night, a lone tusker damaged coconut and banana trees at a farm in Ramanathapuram, near Thadagam. P. Oliyarasu, the farm owner, said the elephant entered his property at 11 p.m. and left by 11:30 p.m., after destroying several six-year-old coconut trees. “I contacted the Forest staff three times, but the patrol team arrived 30 minutes after the elephant had left. The damage could have been prevented if they had arrived sooner,” Oliyarasu said.

Farmers in Thadagam Valley reported that elephants have been regularly visiting almost every village in the area at night for over two months. They have appealed to the Department to increase the number of patrol teams.

Mahalakshmi Manoharan, a farmers’ leader from Kalayanur, near Thadagam, has called for at least two night patrol teams to be deployed to cover all the villages in the valley. “Previously, the Department would send a single team, but they struggled to drive away the elephants, as the animals would enter different villages simultaneously. For a short period, two teams were deployed, but one was later withdrawn. At least two teams are necessary, as one unit cannot manage the entire area,” she said.

Mahalakshmi also noted that the compensation provided by the Department—₹500 per coconut tree and ₹100 per banana tree—is insufficient. “₹500 is not enough for even a one-year-old coconut tree,” she added.

District Forest Officer N. Jayaraj said that the night patrol team could not go to the field on Saturday night as they were sent for another task. He then clarified that two patrol teams would be deployed in Thadagam valley on a regular basis.

Source - The Hindu