A grama panchayat-owned plastic, including waste dumping in the stream and roadside at the Munnar-Bodimettu Highway, poses a threat to the wild tusker Padayappa, along with other wild animals. According to sources, Devikulam Panchayat near Munnar hill station in Idukki disposes of plastic, including legacy waste, near the roadside due to the absence of a proper waste treatment plant. Devikulam is one of the prime tourist locations in Munnar, attracting lakhs of tourists every year.
“The plastic, including waste, was largely dumped near the Lockhart factory near Devikulam and around 500 meters from the toll plaza in Devikulam on the highway. The road and nearby plantations are the regular path of tusker Padayappa, along with other wild elephants. Tusker Padayappa was seen on the road for hours on Monday morning. Wild elephants searching for food from the waste dumped in sacks is a regular scene on the stretch,” said a source.
Team Munnar Environment and Wildlife Society (MEWS) president R. Mohan said that the government should take immediate steps to allot land to the panchayat for the waste treatment plant. “The plastic, including legacy waste, attracts wild elephants and other animals to the dumping yard. The waste dumping also poses a threat to the wild elephants,” said Mr. Mohan.
However, former Devikulam panchayat president Kavitha Kumar said that the panchayat has no land to set up a waste treatment plant. “The panchayat already sought the revenue department for 20 cents of revenue land at Kuttiyarvalley near Munnar to set up the waste treatment plant. However, the land has not yet been received. The panchayat has already allotted money to set up the plant, but land availability is the major hurdle to setting up the plant,” said Ms. Kumar.
“If they get land, the panchayat can easily set up the treatment plant immediately,” she said.
A senior Forest department official said that the panchayat receives huge income from the tourism industry, but the officials failed to ensure a proper waste management system. “The waste-dumped lands are owned by various plantation companies, and the panchayat cannot take any action over such threats,” said the official.
On January 11, two wild elephants were found eating plastic waste from the Munnar panchayat-owned dumping yard at Kallar in the district and the incident garnered widespread attention. After the government and High Court intervened, the panchayat was directed to clear the waste dumping. Later, the panchayat cleared the legacy waste from the dumping yard.
