An awareness session being held for tea estate workers in the Valparai plateau.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
With the Valparai plateau receiving spells of the southwest monsoon, the Forest Department is conducting awareness activities among residents and workers of plantations to reduce negative interactions between humans and wild animals.Managements of tea and coffee estates have been advised to clear vegetation grown around the line houses and quarters of workers. There are 50-odd large estates in the Valparai plateau, falling under the jurisdictions of Manambolly and Valparai forest ranges of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve.Clearing of vegetation was to improve visibility and to prevent wild animals like leopard and sloth bear from hiding in bushes close to these residences. Estate managements have also been instructed to ensure adequate lighting, said Manambolly Forest Range Officer K. Giritharan.Staff from Manambolly and Valparai ranges visit labour lines at regular intervals, educating workers the dos and don’ts to co-exist with the wildlife. Staff from each range conduct around 10 awareness programmes a week, mainly focusing migrant labourers and new workers.Valparai Forest Range Officer Suresh Krishnan said that the staff are also identifying low-lying electricity lines in places where wild elephants roam. Such sagging lines are reported to the Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Limited for immediate rectification as elephants might come into contact with them, leading to electrocution. A few all-male groups, comprising three to four sub-adult and adult tuskers, are roaming in the plateau at present.Trimming of branches of large trees close to residences and labour lines is also being undertaken as a preventive measure during the rainy season. Published - June 09, 2026 08:42 pm IST
