A dumping yard in Munnar is posing a threat to wild elephants in the region. According to R. Mohan, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) district vice president, wild elephants were found eating plastic waste from the Munnar panchayat-owned dumping yard at Kallar, near Nallathanni, around 11 a.m. on Thursday. “We reached the spot and found two tuskers eating waste from the yard. We alerted the panchayat officials and forest officials, who reached the spot and chased the tuskers from the dumping yard,” said Mr. Mohan.
Munnar panchayat secretary K.N. Sahajan said the panchayat had made arrangements to collect segregated waste from establishments and houses in Munnar and shift them to the treatment plant at Kallar. “However, certain tourists throw food waste and plastic onto roads. This non-segregated waste is shifted to a storage place at Kallar. The wild elephants were eating from this waste storage area. We will remove the non-segregated waste from Friday,” said Mr. Sahajan.
According to the Forest department officials, most of the areas in Munnar, especially in Kallar and Nallathanni, are active habitats of wild elephants. “The panchayat must keep the non-segregated waste fenced,” said a Forest department official.
HC order
M.N. Jayachandran, SPCA district secretary, said the panchayat should ensure arrangements to remove waste from the hill station. “The transformer near the dumping yard also poses a threat to wild elephants,” said Mr. Jayachandran. In June 2023, a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court had directed the State government to clear the waste dumped at a pit by the panchayat at Chinnakanal in Idukki district after elephants and other animals from the nearby forests were found eating at the place.
