It’s corporate poaching in the Gudalur rainforests. A behemoth 80,000 plus acres has been encroached there by 11 major corporate plantations, including Manjushree Plantations, Parry Agro, Hindustan Unilever, Harrisons Malayalam and Silver Cloud among others. While the forest department has succeeded in retrieving a good portion and begun afforestation initiatives, the big ones have put a spoke in the wheel with delaying tactics in the form of litigations. It is a whopping 400 cases in different courts at different stages, making the battle a long-drawn one. The Covai Post delves deep and far into this grave issue that is denuding the verdant forest cover and has met a cross-section of officials, plantation honchos and workers and farmers.