Coimbatore’s Govanur Valley turns a hotbed of negative human-elephant interactions

COIMBATORE The Govanur Valley in Coimbatore district is emerging as a hotbed of negative interaction

The Govanur Valley in Coimbatore district is emerging as a hotbed of negative interactions involving humans and wild elephants.

On Friday, R. Bhagyam, 75, a resident of Govanur, was attacked by a wild elephant when she went to an open space near her house to attend nature’s call early in the morning. Her condition was stable.

On Thursday, a 65-year-old farmer was trampled to death by a lone tusker near a temple at Ranganathapuram in the Valley around 5.30 p.m. The same elephant had attacked another farmer aged 65 in the morning.

According to the Forest Department, three herds of elephants and two tuskers are roaming in forest areas coming under the Naickenpalayam section of the Periyanaickenpalayam forest range in the Valley.

Members of the  Govanur Meetpu Kuzhu, a committee of people who are fighting against illegal mining by brick kiln operators in the Valley, allege that elephants started entering villages due to excavation of red earth from uncultivated lands at the foothills and forest boundaries.

“Pits ranging from 10 to 50 feet have been formed along forest boundaries due to illegal mining by 33 brick kilns in the Valley. Elephants had been using these lands for foraging and migration in the past. Now, they are forced to enter villages,” said a member of the committee, requesting anonymity.

He accused brick kiln operators of shifting existing stock at night and clearing trails of their illegal mining using excavators, worsening negative interactions between humans and elephants.