Coimbatore: Forest officials were held captive by farmers for five hours in the Mettupalayam area. The farmers complained that the forest department had failed to prevent elephants from entering their agricultural lands int he past two months.
Coimbatore: Forest officials were held captive by farmers for five hours in the Mettupalayam area. The farmers complained that the forest department had failed to prevent elephants from entering their agricultural lands int he past two months.
Recently, the movement of elephants were on the rise in areas near Mettupalayam like Karamadai, Velliangadu, Tholampalayam, Seeliyur, Melbavi. These wild elephants had encamped in these places and entered the farmlands at night rampaging banana and sugarcane plantations as well as other crops. Even after constant pleas to the forest department, the farmers alleged that appropriate action to prevent elephants from straying into farmlands was not initiated.
Recently, a wild elephant entered a farmland in Tholampalayam and damaged crops. Forest Officer Saravanan and other forest officials in a ten-member team were supposedly sent to chase the elephant away. But farmers allege that no steps were being taken to control elephant movement which irked the farmers, and hence they decided to take forest officials captive along with their vehicles.
They demanded that the District Forest Department Officers ought to come directly to the farmers and promise that immediate steps will be taken on this issue. Only after the captive forest officials pledged that they would definitely take swift action hereon, they were released.