Railway tracks laid as fence to keep away jumbos

2-km barrier gives hope of safety to villages near Nagarahole

The authorities have laid a fence made of railway tracks at Kumbarakatte and Aadugundi, on the periphery of Nagarahole, to arrest the elephant menace. The fence was inaugurated by MLA K G Bopaiah on Sunday. Speaking on the occasion, he said that the work on permanent solution to jumbo menace was initiated three years ago. With the setting up the 2-km long fence, the people from Devanooru 1, Devanooru 2, Malluru, Jagale, Nevare, Karmadu, Kottageri and Nittur villages can heave a sigh of relief.

“A fence made of railway tracks has been successfully set up in Chhattisgarh. A similar project was initiated on the periphery of forest at HD Kote, but this is the first time that such a fence is being laid in Kodagu,” he said. The legislator added that a proposal for constructing a 126-km-long retaining wall on the periphery of the forests in Kodagu at a cost of Rs 276 crore was submitted to the government. Now, a sum of Rs 8 crore has been released.

Stating that the Forest Department has dug lakes inside the forest in an unscientific manner, Bopaiah pointed out that the lakes are being dug in places where there is no source of water. Instead check dams should be constructed inside the forest to store water, which in turn will increase the groundwater, he added.

“The recommendations of the Kasturirangan report on the conservation of Western Ghats should be reviewed. The state government should submit its objections to the draft notification on ecologically sensitive areas by March 27 and thereby protect the interest of the farmers,” urged the legislator.