Residents, mostly farmers and traders, in Kanavai Mottur village near Gudiyatham town in Vellore, blocked Gudiyatham - Paradarami Main Road on Friday, to protest against forest officials for not taking steps to prevent elephants from damaging crops in the area.
The residents said that remote villages like Kallapadi, Kanavai Mottur, Anupu, and Kathirikulam are located near reserve forests that come under the Gudiyatham forest range along the Tamil Nadu - Andhra Pradesh border. The farmers in the villages cultivate paddy, banana, ragi, groundnuts, mango, and vegetables, covering around 130 acres in these villages. “Wild elephants damage standing crops during the night. It has become a perennial problem in villages around Gudiyatham,” said K. Mahesh, a farmer.
Friday’s road block by residents came after a herd of elephants damaged crops in these villages the previous night. They blocked the road around 11 a.m., demanding a permanent solution to end elephant menace.
