
Now, a temple for dead elephants
Conflict for space between man and elephant has led to a poignant situation where the villagers of Madukarai, near Coimbatore, will soon build a temple in memory of three elephants killed by a train near their village on January 4.
Two male elephants and a pregnant female elephant were run over by a passenger train during the early hours, as the engine driver was unable to spot them due to heavy fog. In the trauma the female elephant delivered the baby, which was born dead.
“We were running scared all these days when the elephants raided our fields and ran very close to our homes, but we never wanted such an end to their lives. We, in fact, are angry with the forest department for not sending them back into the forests,” said V. Muthukumar, a local activist.
The villagers’ decision to build a temple was prompted by popular belief that the death of pregnant elephant could spell bad tidings for the region.
Wildlife enthusiasts said that the elephants cannot be blamed for straying on to the railway track since the low mountain plains of Coimbatore forest range had been their grazing fields for centuries.
“All the five elephant corridors in this district on the Western Ghats have seen untrammeled construction in the past one decade disrupting the free movement of elephants,” pointed out S. Kalidas of Osai, an NGO fighting for the protection of elephants.
The shrubby plains and the lower reaches of Western Ghats in Coimbatore district has seen the construction of engineering colleges, universities, a handful of ashrams and tourist resorts. This has directly cut into the roaming terrain of the elephants, whose population too has increased from 210 to 305 in the last five years, forest officials said.
“The hilly regions of the Ghats in this area are quite steep so the elephants prefer the reserve forests or adjacent shrub land at the foothills. Unfortunately the shrub lands, which are only 50 to 100 km wide have been cleared and built upon, directly encroaching the grazing areas of elephants,” pointed out District Forest Officer Anwar Dheen.
Also the sinking of borewells by human occupants has led to the drying up of water holes in the reserve forests, which again force the pachyderms to come into human inhabited areas in search of water. The fateful trek across the railway track on January 4 was towards a small lake on the other side of the village, locals said.

Kerala CM slams union minister amid calls for resignation over smuggling case

Tamil Nadu bus conductor who planted 3 lakh saplings in 30 years wins praise

Congress releases first list for Assam after ‘rumblings’ in unit

‘Golden moment’: TMC ex-MP Trivedi joins BJP

A month on, questions remain over cause of Chamoli disaster

20 years on, court acquits 122 people accused of SIMI links

Bihar finance dept sounds alert against attempts of irregular fund withdrawal
- The finance department has written to the top brass of various departments, offices and administration to ensure strict compliance to the finance and treasury rules for maintaining fiscal discipline.

Union minister proposes collection drive for beautification of Jagannath Temple
- In a letter to Puri king Gajapati Dibya Singha Deb, Union minister for petroleum and natural gas, Dharmendra Pradhan urged him to launch a mass fund collection drive to enable contribution by crores of devotees of Lord Jagannath for the development of the Jagannath Temple heritage corridor.

Cumulative Covid-19 vaccinations cross 20-million mark: Government

Issue of national security key as govt decides on cryptocurrency, says Thakur
- Cryptocurrency is, however, not legally banned and the government is in the process of enacting a law on this matter.

Need to develop military into ‘future force’: PM Modi at top commanders’ meet
- The PM asked the three services to rid themselves of legacy systems and practices that are no longer relevant.

Transgender help desk set up at police station in Hyderabad

In Rajasthan’s Jodhpur district, 2 arrested for brandishing gun at wedding
- According to the police, some young men were dancing at the DJ night in a wedding ceremony, during which one of the accused pointed the pistol at the forehead of another youth.

As farmers protest completes 100 days, Cong says ‘100 days of BJP's arrogance’

Supreme Court to begin limited physical hearing on trial basis from March 15
- In January this year, Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde ruled out any reopening of courts for the present.