The Supreme Court-appointed committee looking into the grievances of resort owners and local residents in the Sigur Elephant Corridor in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, visited villages in Vazhaithottam near Masinagudi and inspected sealed resorts and guest houses, on Sunday and Monday.
A total of 39 illegal resorts, which had been functioning without proper licenses along the notified elephant corridor, blocking critical access of animals to habitat and water courses, were sealed following a Supreme court verdict in 2018. The court appointed a technical committee, known as the Sigur Plateau Elephant Corridor Inquiry Committee, headed by retired judge, Justice K. Venkatraman to hear the grievances of local residents.
On Monday, the committee inspected resorts, homestays and residences belonging to local residents which lie along the notified elephant corridor. Local residents, who met the members, appealed to the committee to ensure that they were not forced out of their homes. The committee members also inspected some of the resorts that had been sealed near Bokkapuram on Sunday.
Speaking to reporters following the completion of the inspection, Justice Venkatraman said that the committee had recorded its findings during the course of the inspection. “We noted that some of the resorts that had been sealed have been in use since then, but we are not in a position to state whether they were being opened for use by visitors or were used for other purposes,” he said.
Also present during the inspection was former district collector, J. Innocent Divya, district revenue officer, Keerthi Priyadarshini and Deputy Director of MTR (Buffer Zone), P. Arunkumar.
Electric fences blocking access to water
Conservationists in the Nilgiris have highlighted the use of electric fences in agricultural areas along the notified elephant corridor that are blocking wildlife from accessing river water flowing through the reserve. The problem has become especially acute during the summer, with instances of problematic human-elephant interactions on the rise due to water scarcity. When asked, Justice Venkatraman said that people who have any information of the use of such fences along the corridor should intimate the local Forest Department or the Nilgiris district administration so that steps can be taken to remove these impediments to the movement of wildlife in the reserve.
