Replace faulty street lamps in tiger reserve, tribals tell govt

Coimbatore: Tribals from Anaimalai Tiger Reserve have urged the district administration to replace faulty solar street lamps in their settlements to ward off perils of encountering wild animals, whose movements they say have gone up in their locality of late.
The tribal settlements do not have power connections as yet.
“As the solar powered street lamps were installed close to a decade ago, they have become defunct in five to six settlements including Kumatti, Erumaiparai and Nedunkundru. Despite several requests to replace them, no steps have been taken,” said V S Paramasivam, district president of TN Tribal People Association.
“With the movement of wild animals including leopards and tigers around the settlements, it has become difficult for residents to sleep peacefully. To ensure wild animals do not enter the settlements, residents take turns to guard the area. Every night, a few of them sit around firecamps,” he explained.
A couple of days ago, a wild animal had tried to enter a settlement in Kumatti, but it was sent back in the nick of time. As people live in huts, it is difficult to safeguard themselves if animals enter unnoticed, Paramasivam said.
The association is planning to petition both the district collector’s office and chief minister’s office requesting them to repair the faulty lamps and install new ones at the earliest.