Thiruvananthapuram: Wild Elephants Destroy Crops In Tribal Belt Again!

The elephant menace is getting worse in the Pathukani tribal belt on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border. Wild elephant herds are entering residential areas and destroying crops on a large scale. Locals are now demanding permanent solutions like solar fencing to save their lives and farms.

Thiruvananthapuram: The wild elephant menace is getting out of hand in Pathukani and nearby tribal areas on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border. Wild elephant herds are leaving the forest limits and entering residential zones. They are destroying crops on a massive scale, and this is making the hill residents very anxious. Yesterday early morning, wild elephants entered the Kallaravayal tribal area. The animals uprooted several coconut and arecanut trees there.

A local farmer named Krishnankani suffered the maximum crop loss in his field. Last night, another elephant herd came from the Melekattuva side. They completely ruined cash crops like pepper and arecanut. Locals say that this elephant trouble has been unbearable for the last two years.

Just a few months back, a wild elephant gored a Kanjirampara native named Rajesh to death. The elephant had entered his farm, and Rajesh tried to chase it away. The animal attacked him while he was climbing a nearby rock for safety. Now, the local people are demanding urgent action from the forest department and other authorities. They want the government to set up solar fences and permanent barricades to stop wild elephants from entering human settlements.