A herd of elephants destroyed crops that were ready for harvest in several acres near Gudiyattam Forest Range causing huge loss for farmers who are now looking at the government for adequate compensation for the lost crops.
Farmers assessing damage caused by a herd of elephants at a plantain farm near Gudiyattam
Vellore:
Over the last five days, a herd of 10 elephants, which moved into Tamil Nadu from Andhra Pradesh, have been on the rampage destroying mango groves in Kottamitta, Danakondapalli, Paradarami, DP Palayam, VD Palayam and Kothur.
Boopathy, Murugan, Lakshmanan and Padmanaban, the affected farmers said that “we stand to lose a lot as the mango yield was ready for harvest, but the rampaging elephants destroyed them completely.”
Similarly, at Modikuppam, 150 banana stems were uprooted by the marauding herd. Though locals chased away the pachyderms by bursting crackers, they demanded to know why the Forest Department, which never responds immediately to their emergency calls, could not depute a team of forest staff on a regular basis to chase away wild elephants in the Gudiyattam range like it was being done in neighbouring Krishnagiri district.
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