The death of an elephant in the Nilgiris spotlights the tussle over a conservation project
The Sigur Elephant Corridor, connecting the Western and Eastern Ghats, is facing resistance because it will displace over 12,000 people.
The recent conflict between the owners of a homestay and a male elephant in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve in the Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu, that led to the death of the tusker, has again brought into focus the tussle over land that is being earmarked for elephant movement in the area. The dispute, which has gone through years of litigation in the courts, got intense after the area to be acquired for the corridor was expanded, displacing those whose lives and livelihoods depended on the lands that were being earmarked for the animals.