Supporting farmers to combat the recurring wild elephant menace, the administrators of five grama panchayats led by the Koduvally block panchayat have come together to realise a mega solar power fencing project offering protection to the agriculture land in the worst-affected upland areas. The safety project, aimed at covering nearly 87-km distance, is claimed to be the biggest such undertaking for farmers in Kozhikode.
According to officials, the local bodies will be spending ₹60 lakh in total for completing the first phase of the project. Its benefit will be directly available for the affected farmers in panchayats like Thiruvambady, Kattippara, Puthuppadi, Koodaranhi, and Kodenchery under the Koduvally block, they added.
Both the Agriculture and Forest departments will extend their cooperation and possible financial support for the timely completion of the project. The work that was opened by Koduvally block panchayat president Babu Kalathur last week is now focusing on some of the most vulnerable areas around the Vattachira tribal settlement in Kodenchery panchayat.
The local bodies came up with the joint action plan noticing the struggle of hundreds of low-income farmers facing recurring instances of wild animals straying into their fields. Their call to erect solar fences was previously ignored mainly due to fund shortage. The attempts of the Forest department to tackle the wild animal menace by digging trenches also failed to offer protection in many areas.
Koduvally block panchayat authorities said they would ensure speedy completion of the work as many upland areas were witnessing a strange increase in the number of wild elephants straying into their land. They also pointed out that many farmers had already left the field unable to withstand the huge loss.
