Clear elephant corridors of brick kilns, State govt told

The first bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy, before whom the plea pending since last year came up for hearing on Wednesday, said: “Some corridors must be restored, even if it may not be possible to restore all. The right of passage must be given to elephants to move from one tract of land to another in such a manner which does not cause much displacement to humans, yet allows the animals the freedom they deserve.”

Based on this, the bench on recording the submission of the Forest department that the damage done cannot be undone and it’s a mammoth task to restore the corridor, directed the State to come out with an action plan in consultation with the Principal Conservator of Forests to indicate how man-animal conflict could be avoided and right of passage given to elephants.

Also, the bench on pointing out that some measures must be taken for the unhindered passage of elephants from one track to another without straying into human habitation, directed the submission of a report to the petitioners at least two days ahead of the next hearing after four weeks.

The petitioners had submitted that the illegal functioning of as many as 186 brick kilns with rampant mining of red sand has changed the dynamics of the entire landscape of Thadagam valley and caused severe damage to its ecology and migratory route of elephants.

The Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu government to obtain expert advice on restricting the spread of dengue not only in Chennai but also in other parts of State and evolve a comprehensive plan to monitor the situation.

The first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy, said: “The roadmap evolved to deal with the menace has to cover the entire State including other town and cities where migration leads to additional people living in poor and unhygienic conditions wherein stagnant water remains the breeding ground for the larvae.”

Directing TN Health department to convene a virtual meeting of all civic bodies, the bench said: “It should endeavour to obtain expert advice, spread awareness among the vulnerable and regular attempts made to remove stagnant water.” The bench also insisted that the use of repellents and other chemicals be looked into by an expert body.