Coimbatore’s Govanur Valley turns a hotbed of negative human-elephant interactions
The HinduThe Govanur Valley in Coimbatore district is emerging as a hotbed of negative interactions involving humans and wild elephants. Members of the Govanur Meetpu Kuzhu, a committee of people who are fighting against illegal mining by brick kiln operators in the Valley, allege that elephants started entering villages due to excavation of red earth from uncultivated lands at the foothills and forest boundaries. “Pits ranging from 10 to 50 feet have been formed along forest boundaries due to illegal mining by 33 brick kilns in the Valley. Activist S. Ganesh of Thadagam Valley Protection Committee alleged that illegal excavation for brick making destroyed transit paths and pastures along forest boundaries that were in Govanur Valley, which were traditionally used by wild elephants. “Thadagam Valley, which used to be a hotbed of negative human-elephant interactions, reported zero human deaths after 177 brick kilns which functioned illegally were sealed in 2021,” he claimed.
History of this topic
Narrow escape for construction workers as elephants damage their shed near Coimbatore
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Elephants break open two houses near Coimbatore in less than two weeks
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Wild elephants continue to damage crops in Thadagam Valley villages
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