Desilting along Bhavani Sagar dam disturbs animals

The Forest Department has expressed concern over desilting work being carried out in an area along the Bhavani Sagar dam, which comes under the Sirumugai forest range in Coimbatore, as it poses a threat to the free movement of wild animals.

Contractors authorised by the PWD have been accused of removing silt accumulated from morning to evening, forcing animals, especially elephants, to take alternative routes to reach waterholes, said department officials.

On Sunday morning, a wild animal came charging at a couple from Amman Pudur near Pethikuttai when they were heading to an agricultural field on a moped. The couple encountered the animal at a place not usually frequented by wild elephants.

“The grasslands along the Bhavani Sagar dam in Sirumugai forest range are known for large congregations of wild elephants in the morning and the evening. They are also home to a variety of wild spinach, one of the favourite fodders of elephants. Several herds have already changed their regular routes to the backwaters as a result of the disturbance caused by the desilting work,” said an official, requesting anonymity. The official added that human-elephant conflict would increase in the area if desilting work is not regulated.

The sounds of earthmovers and trucks cause a lot of disturbance to spotted deer, black buck and gaur.

Though the Bhavani Sagar dam is situated in Erode district, the backwater area stretches up to three km along Pethikuttai and Kothamandi of Sirumugai range in Coimbatore district. It has been under the control of the PWD on lease since the dam was commissioned.

For the removal and transportation of silt, the contractors have constructed a temporary bund across the backwaters. Movement of vehicles along the bund is posing a risk to workers involved in desilting and transportation.