The fallow areas of the POABS Group tea plantations at Granby, in Vandiperiyar, Idukki.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Once again, fear grips the village of Granby, which is situated under the POABS Group tea plantations in Vandiperiyar, Idukki, due to reported tiger sighting.
Residents said a plantation worker named Soumya noticed the presence of the big cat on Friday. In response to the alert, officials from the Forest department installed two cameras to monitor the animal’s presence.
Plantation workers are fearful of going to work after the sighting of the tiger. The fallow area of the plantation is overgrown with wilderness, and wild animals are residing there, say workers.
Erumeli Forest Range Officer K. Harilal said the camera traps did not detect the presence of the tiger.
“The Forest Department will fix camera traps in other locations. The fallow areas of the plantations are overgrown with wild growth, and it has also resulted in the camping of wild animals in the human habitations,” said the official.
“The presence of cattle in the tea plantations attracts wild animals , which is a easy prey for them,” he said
The Forest Department had suggested stall feeding of cattle in the cluster homes, said the official.
The general secretary of the Kerala Plantation Workers Union (INTUC), Shaji Pynadathu, said that the plantation workers’ unions will demand that the company clear the fallow plantation area.
Meanwhile, Ouseph KD, Manager of HR & IR, POABS Enterprises Private Limited, stated that the repeated absence of workers under the group led to the dense growth of wild plants.
“When the workers join for work, the company can remove the wild overgrowth in the area,” said Mr Ouseph.
On March 17, a Kerala Forest Department team shot and killed a tiger that had descended on Aranakkallu, near Granby.
Earlier in May, the Forest Department team found a dead female tiger at Rajamudy near Granby. Initial inspection revealed that the animal had died due to snake bite.
Published – October 12, 2025 09:10 pm IST
