For more than 10 years, the settler farmers of Chakkittappara, a grama panchayat that shares a border with the Malabar wildlife sanctuary in Kozhikode district, have been on the warpath against the wild elephant attacks on their farms. Around 20-km stretch of the agriculture land remains open to the wild animal threat with no effective efforts at protecting it.
If farmers of Chakkittappara live in fear of wild elephants, their counterparts in the eastern parts of Kollam are in a similar plight, owing to depredation of farms by peacocks.
Peacocks were a rarity in the area in the past. However, the bird is a perennial presence in the area these days. When the first flock of peacocks appeared in these areas more than a decade ago, many enjoyed the sight of the winged visitors. But as months went by, they realised that these birds were in their backyards in search of food. Farmlands in the region soon became the targets of the peacocks. Peacock intrusion into the farmlands in the area has now become a major threat to the farmers, especially because there is no provision in the rule books for provision of compensation to the farmers by the Forest Department.
Farmers of Chakkittappara are better placed, through barely. In their case, there are provisions in the rule books for payment of compensation for crop loss. However, it actually takes a couple of years for the compensation to reach them. Moreover, the compensation amount is too small when compared with the magnitude of their losses. Settler farmers in the Chakkittappara area lament that they would be left with no option but to leave the locality if measures to remedy the situation are not coming.
A couple of years ago, there were 80 families settled in the Poozhithode village of Chakkittappara alone but 76 of them relocated recently to safer locations giving up their farming operations.
Apart from Poozhithode, villages such as Chembanoda, Peruvannamoozhi and Muthukad too have been bearing the brunt of wild animal attacks over the past several years. Incomplete solar fencing and unscientific construction of trenches have triggered farmers’ protests in the region.
“The Forest Department tried to erect solar fences extending up to four km in the area, but it was hardly a success. Digging of a trench covering two km too turned out to be futile as it caved in at several places,” says Bose Vattamattom, a farmer from Poozhithode.
Leaders of ‘We Farm’, a newly constituted farmers’ wing in the area, also point out that only the construction of a strong fence using dismantled railway tracks would offer better protection.
K. George, president of the organisation, says that the Forest Department must take up the issue with the State government and secure approval for the project.
Forest Department officials say a feasibility study on the farmers’ proposal to erect strong fences using dismantled railway tracks would be undertaken with the help of experts from the National Institute of Technology, Calicut, soon.
Divisional forest officer K.K. Sunil Kumar says dismantled railway tracks have been used successfully in Bandipur forest regions to keep the wild animals away. A similar proposal has already been sent to the State government by department officials from Wayanad. “If the pilot project proves to be a success, we can certainly try it in other places too,” he asserts.
