Forest dept plans to erect awareness boards around 14-km girivalam path

TIRUVANNAMALAI: The Forest Department has proposed to erect boards around the 14 km girivalam path in Tiruvannamalai town in a bid to create awareness among public on how to treat animals, sources said.

As the path abuts the reserve forest area, it is common for spotted deer and other wild animals to stray into town in search of food and water resulting in some of them being killed in road accidents as also by illegal poachers.

Hence, the department plans to put up board stating that it is a punishable offence to mine sand and alluvial soil and dump rubbish in forest areas and that speed in forest areas should be only 40 km per hour, sources added. Drinking and smoking inside forest limits as also felling trees within RF were also punishable by either fines or jail sentences, it added.

Meanwhile in a bid to ensure water for forest denizens during the summer, the department has started filling up already created cement troughs with water on a regular basis, officials added.