After a 14-year-old child was killed by a wild elephant in Gudalur, The Nilgiris Collector, Lakshmi Bhavya Tanneeru held a meeting with officials of various departments and the public recently.
The Collector ordered speedy dispensation of compensation to the family of the deceased, S. Mishabh, a Class VIII student who was living at Pakkana in Pandalur in the Bitherkad forest range, Gudalur.
Local residents who attended the meeting demanded improved bus facilities to the region, better roads, streetlights and other amenities which they said could bring down the number of negative human-elephant interactions in the region. The Collector directed the Forest Department and the District Rural Development Agency to look into the demands and to submit a report on the feasibility of measures that can be implemented.
The district administration said that the Collector also demanded the number of surveillance cameras near forest areas to be increased, and additional lighting be installed in the area by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board. She also ordered that a house be allotted to the family of the deceased and for a wheelchair to be provided for Mishabh’s sibling.
“The Collector also emphasised that awareness measures should be undertaken jointly by the Forest Department and local residents to advice people not to venture alone during the night. She further directed Forest Department officials to expand the existing volunteer network, operating through the control room system, that alerts residents about the movement of wild animals into inhabited areas. An additional five to ten persons from each village should be included in the existing group to improve communication and response times,” a press release added.
Published – June 02, 2026 06:59 pm IST
