Strap: Residents along the river bed shocked to see carcasses of 10 wild boars wash ashore near their submerged houses. Ask officials to remove them, complaining of stench and health issues.

Flooding caused by intermittent rainfall in the Western Ghats claimed the lives of 10 wild boars, whose carcasses were found floating in river Noyyal. The sight of the highly decomposed carcasses of wild boars in the floodwaters that also submerged some homes on the bank of the river had the people full of unease.

Already the people living near the river had complaints of toxic foam floating over the river, due to pollution, and now the flooding brought to them the carcasses of wild boars. Residents of Thondamuthur were both shocked and irked when they saw the carcasses washed across to the shore of the swollen Noyyal river.

People were also tense and nervous as only last week, several houses built along the river bed in the low lying areas were inundated. Their lives were already hit by the incessant rain. Now, they have the stench emanating from carcasses to contend with.

“We are unable to breathe,” said a resident.

Few residents had urged the officials in charge of the area to clear the carcasses from there or else they could face health issues.

“We are already worried about our health. We have water in our houses and all around our houses. The toxic foam from Noyyal had already caused a loss in crops and we fear these carcasses can now become a new threat to our lives,” Manikandan, a local resident said.

The residents have alerted the Animal Husbandry board to clear the carcasses.

The entire Madhambatti area, an agricultural belt, was completely submerged in floodwaters and forced the wild boars to come near the land in search of food to survive. The residents complain that these wild boars damaged farmlands and destroyed their crops.

Wildlife activists and officials said that these animals now search for food in agricultural land as there may not be sufficient food available inside the forests.

The cause of the death of these animals was drowning while trying to migrate to higher lands, said a wildlife activist.