Varsity repeatedly targeted by tuskers

COIMBATORE: Over the last couple of days, students and staff of the Bharathiar University  (BU) here have been dealing with some unusual, rather unwelcome visitors on their campus - wild elephants.This is not the first time that the pachyderms have come calling, creating havoc among the staff and students.  An university official said, “In August, the elephants entered the Vice-Chancellor’s residence and damaged the banana plants around. The wild elephants would usually enter the campus around 9 pm and sometimes could be spotted early in the morning.Now, after a gap of five to six months, they are back, and on Saturday night, a herd of six was seen entering the campus. The university official suggested that the fact that new buildings  have come up on the path the herds used to move on, could be attributed to this problem. “The elephants used to break the pipes of the water sump near the School of Distance Education building to drink water. Earlier, elephants used to pass through a path near the Law College. However, after houses were built on that path, the jumbos now stray into the campus. They are often seen passing by in front of the rooms of the college hostel,” said the official.  The forest department is now looking at ways to curb this menace. K Asokan, director of the VOC Park Zoo, said, “In Wayanad, Kerala, the forest department has started planting a particular variety of plant known as Katralai. These plants, which grow to a height of over six feet, have proved to be successful in preventing not only elephants, but also other wild animals from entering human habitats.”V Thirunavukarasu, District Forest Officer, Coimbatore, spoke of another method to tackle the problem.“We are planning to dig up trenches stretching for an area of six km (three km each on the right and left side of Maruthamalai). We will start the work as soon as the tenders are finalised. Trenches are a fool-proof method to prevent the elephants from straying into populated areas.” On the Katralai method, he said, “We cannot jump to conclusions now. Only after two to three years after its implementation can we ascertain the success of the scheme.”