Coimbatore: The seed ball dispersal event which began at a school located in Varadarajapuram in Coimbatore last month is gaining ground among the community in the region. School students and community activists had worked together to produce 10 lakh seed balls and now college students and community activists split into four groups are gathering together in the forest area of Coimbatore to disperse the seed balls across the Western Ghats, Mettupalayam and Periyanayankalayam.
Coimbatore: The seed ball dispersal event which began at a school located in Varadarajapuram in Coimbatore last month is gaining ground among the community in the region. School students and community activists had worked together to produce 10 lakh seed balls and now college students and community activists split into four groups are gathering together in the forest area of Coimbatore to disperse the seed balls across the Western Ghats, Mettupalayam and Periyanayankalayam.
The volunteers stated that the dried seedlings will sprout soon due to the heavy rains. School students, community activists and District Forest Officer Venkatesh were also present at the event. The school students handed over the seed balls to the college students.
While addressing the press, District Forest Officer Venkatesh said, "Four elephants that died last month at the foothills of the Western Ghats were affected with gastrointestinal tract infection. We have planned to hold a review meeting to prevent such elephant deaths, further on. The wild elephant that trampled two people to death in Kerala has been chased back into the forests. Hence, elephant movement as of now is no longer a problem."
Venkatesh also added that there was a plan to install 360-degree CCTV cameras to monitor elephants. "The capture of elephants Chinnathambi and Vinayaka has reduced crop damage. We have reported about the sand mining to the District Collector. Since then, sand and gravel have not been smuggled to Kerala through the Coimbatore-Mangarai border," he stated.
"We have three units set up to monitor attacks on elephants. We are also raising awareness among the public. The two persons who were killed by an elephant had been drinking alcohol and the tragic incident occurred because they were loitering in the elephant corridor."