COONOOR: The man-elephant conflict has begun to resurface again at Nanjappanchathiram hamlet bordering this hill town of Coonoor. Over the past few years, the Nanjappanchathiram hamlet, along the Ooty-Coimbatore NH, has become a man-elephant conflict hotspot with wild jumbos from down below Kallar jungles straying into these hamlets and causing loss of human lives and property.
Though for the past few months the jumbo menace in this area was in control, now, it surfaced again as a wild elephant entered this hamlet and struck panic among the residents, particularly school-going children.
The villagers are also concerned about the crops in the farm fields around as any attempt by the wild jumbos to sneak into the farm fields would wreck havoc to their agriculture output and incomes.
Rajeshkumar James, Secretary of the Citizens' Forum of Coonoor, said that as the Nanjappanchathiram hamlet and nearby Katteri park area have turned out to be man-elephant conflict zone in the recent years, the foresters should make a detail study to ascertain what makes the wild jumbos from far away Kallar in the foothills to stray into this upper ranges of the hills. This would help to manage this conflict better.
Meanwhile, Forest department sources said that they have formed a team to track the movement of wild jumbos there to evolve their action plan.
