T.N. Forest Department conducts drive against country-made bombs in Coimbatore The Hindu September 9, 2023 See link <https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Coimbatore/tn-forest-department-conducts-drive-against-country-made-bombs-in-coimbatore/article67286452.ece> for photo. The Forest Department has conducted a special drive against country-made bombs, locally known as avittukai, along the forest fringes in Coimbatore district in the wake of the recent death of a wild elephant due to an explosive. Low-grade explosives, stuffed with fruits or meats, are used by poachers to hunt wild animals like deer and wild boar. According to the Department, no explosive materials were found during the drive. The Department used its sniffer dog, Valavan, for the special drive that started from Kattanjimalai in the Karamadai forest range and covered a total distance of 35 km. The staff and the sniffer dog covered the forest fringes, settlements and villages bordering the forest in places such as Seeliyur, Kuzhikkadu and Gudalur in the Periyanaickenpalayam forest range and Thadagam, Nanjundapuram, Veerapandi, Maruthamalai and Kembanur in the Coimbatore forest range. The staff also searched the premises and farms of persons who have been placed under surveillance by the Department, for suspicious activities. A total of 45 personnel were involved in the drive that was held for four days, and concluded on Friday, September 8, 2023. On September 5, a sub-adult female wild elephant was found with injuries in the mouth near a brick kiln at Thadagam. Though the Department initiated treatment for the elephant, it died on the same day. As per the post-mortem findings, the elephant died of injuries caused due to the explosion of a country-made bomb in its mouth. https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Coimbatore/tn-forest-department-conducts-drive-against-country-made-bombs-in-coimbatore/article67286452.ece