Forest and police personnel intensified combing operations on the Kerala-Karnataka border forest areas on Monday.
The operations, with the support of Forest Department officials in Karnataka, were being organised to tackle brewing of hooch inside the forest areas ahead of the civic body polls and to prevent poaching, T. Sasikumar, Forest Range Officer, Chethalayath forest range, told The Hindu.
Poachers allegedly from Kerala crossed the Kabani river to enter forest areas on the border with Karnataka, resulting in an increase in poaching there, Mr. Sasikumar who supervised the operation said.
Man-animal conflict
The team discussed various strategies to be taken to mitigate the increasing man-animal conflict and crop raids by wild animals.
As many as 42 officials, including 12 forest officials of Karnataka , took part in the combing operations and they searched the Vandikkadavu, Chamappara, Madappallikunnu, Kolavally and Gannur forest areas under the South Wayanad forest division and Banur and Gundra forest areas under the Gundre forest range of the Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka , Mr. Sasikumar said.
The joint operations would continue in the coming days, he added. Gundre forest range officer V. Sasidharan and Pulpally Sub- Inspector K.P. Benny led the team.
