City-based NGOs have called for a joint committee involving forest officials, members of the public and environmentalists to recover the encroached elephant corridors as it would help reduce the conflict in forest fringes.

According to sources, elephants have largely been using the Kallar Elephant Corridor as a crossing zone to enter into the Coimbatore forest division and proceed to the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve that has large elephant population.
However, since the Mettupalayam-Ooty main road is continuously busy with heavy vehicular movements, elephants have reportedly changed their paths and venturing into human habitations in search of food and water.

Environmentalists feel this is one of the major reasons why the animals continue to raid crops and stay in a particular place for a long time.

Seeking a permanent solution to clear the pathway by constructing an over bridge for vehicles, which in turn, would provide a safe passage for elephants, they have also called for securing small corridors alongside forest fringes.

“This is not the first time that an elephant has died. The death of Madukkarai Maharaj has shown that people are looking forward for the conservation of animals. This is the ideal time to set up a committee,” an environmentalist remarked.

Environmentalists have also called for a special court and a police committee to deal with crimes related to wildlife as the forest department was short staffed. Their other demand include more veterinarians and a special elephant management team to bring down the fatalities among elephants and humans.