Sugarcane-laden lorries told to cover with tarpaulin to prevent elephant interception in Erode

A sugarcane-laden lorry covered with tarpaulin to prevent wild elephants from intercepting the vehicle while it passes through the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve at Hasanur in Erode district. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

With incidents of wild elephants in Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) intercepting sugarcane-laden lorries and feeding on it on the Dindigul – Mysuru National Highway 948 being on the rise, the Forest Department has instructed farmers in Talavadi hills and lorry drivers to cover the cane with tarpaulin while transporting it to sugar mills in the plains. Also, a chemical is sprayed on the lorries so that the smell of cane is not known to elephants.

Sugarcane is widely cultivated in the hill area and in Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka and the harvested cane is transported in lorries through the national highway to reach two sugar mills in the district. The highway passes through the core area of the tiger reserve from Karapallam check-post to Bannari check-post, through Dhimbam Ghat Road.

Wild elephants wait on the road for the lorries to arrive and intercept it and drag the cane. This results in vehicles lining up on both the sides, disrupting vehicle movement between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Many incidents, including a lorry driver and his assistant climbing up a tree after wild elephants started dragging sugarcane from the lorry near the check-post, were reported in the past years.

Most of the incidents were reported in the early morning and evening, and lorry drivers were asked to operate their lorries after 10 a.m. But, sensing the change in timings in operation of lorries, elephants started to wait frequently alongside the road for sugarcane-laden lorries.

The Hasanur Forest Range office of the Hasanur Division held a meeting with farmers and lorry owners association and they asked them to cover the sugarcane with tarpaulin while transporting it to the mills. Also, they were asked to spray the chemical on the outer body of the lorry so that the sugarcane smell is now known to the wild animals.

A senior forest official told The Hindu the lorries moved at 20 kmph leading to congestion on the road, and they were asked to operate after 10 a.m. Patrolling had also been intensified to check if elephants were standing alongside roads while staff also drive them away into the forest.