Jumbos to get their own underpass in Kovai

Waking up to the recent incidents of elephants getting fatally knocked down in the Reserve Forest (RF) in Coimbatore forest division, forest officials are planning to construct underpasses in two places in Madukkarai forest range. They are in the process of preparing a blueprint to send to the government.

On Sunday, an emergency meeting was held in Coimbatore, where Divisional Railway Manager, Palakad, Naresh Lalwani and forest officials including Additional Principal Chief Conservator, Dr Basavaraj discussed the issue of elephant deaths. 

Forest officials say unlike in the past, such incidents are growing in number. On inspecting the corridor, they identified two vulnerable places and plan to construct underpasses there. The construction work would be handed over to the railway department and forest officials would provide funds after getting approval from the state government. 

Speaking to DTNext, I Anwardeen, Conservator of Forests, Coimbatore Circle, said constructing underpasses in the Reserve Forest where has become mandatory. “As of now, we have identified one place- Cholakkarai coming under in Madukkarai range and we are in the process of locating another place,” he said and added that the cost of estimation for constructing would be decided after preparing a detailed project report. Meanwhile, forest officials have asked the railway department to instruct drivers to reduce the speed to 30 km from 40 km in the RF areas.

“Since the railway track runs for 3.25 km in the RF area, two underpasses would be enough to prevent accidents,” said Periyasamy, District Forest Officer (DFO), Coimbatore.

Meanwhile, wildlife activists have welcomed the move. K Kalidasan, President, Osai Environmental Association, Coimbatore, said, “Underpasses at this juncture are imperative, as the number of jumbos is on the rise. Officials should also monitor the underpasses,” he said, adding that some states like Kerala, West Bengal and Uttarkhand had underpasses for all types of wildlife.