Elephant raid: Farmers protest low compensation for damages (Coimbatore) Times of India June 22, 2022 Around 150 farmers from Devarayapuram and surrounding areas in the district blocked the state highways road at Parameswaranpalayam on Tuesday morning, demanding the forest department to compensate them for the crop, motors and pipelines damaged by wild elephants. P Kandasamy, state general secretary, Vivasayigal Sangam (noncommunal, non-religious and non-political), said the incidences of wild elephants raiding agricultural fields at Narasipuram, Devarayapuram and Thondamuthur areas have gone up. “They also damage pipelines and motors connected to the borewells in the process. Ten motors were damaged in the past few days. While the farmers usually face a loss of more than Rs1 lakh in the elephant raid, the forest department would issue just ₹2,000 as compensation.” He demanded the forest department to increase the compensation amount and deploy more field staff to chase away the wild elephants that stray into the plains from the forests. The farmers sat on the road for more than two hours, bringing traffic to a halt. Assistant conservators of forests C Dinesh Kumar (forestry extension division) and M Senthil Kumar (Coimbatore forest division), deputy superintendent of police (Perur sub division) V V Thirumal and revenue department officials visited the spot and held talks with the protesters. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/coimbatore/elephant-raid-farmers-protest-low-compensation-for-damages/articleshow/92372998.cms