virudhunagar with ample rain inside srivilliputhur grizzled squirrel wildlife sanctuary the forest department here has commenced a drive to raise fodder trees the planting drive is concentrated in a 20hectare area where the forest officials had uprooted the invasive weed lantana camara the thorny weed cannot be consumed by the herbivores in the sanctuary besides it deprives animals of fodder by destroying native plants which are natural fodder thereby forcing them to migrate for food last year the state government had sanctioned funds to root out lantana camara the sanctuary managed to remove the shrub from 20 hectares inside the sanctuary limits a wildlife official said the tree species to be planted during the fodder development drive are thani terminalia bellirica jackfruit artocarpus heterophyllus koonthalpanai caryota urens vilvam aegle marmelos vilamaram feronia elephantum and bamboo trees elephants like vilamaram jackfruit and bamboo species while the grizzled squirrels prefer jackfruits the sanctuary officials said the saplings will be planted in rajapalayam srivilliputhur watrap and saptur ranges of the sanctuary as many as 200 saplings will be planted per hectare the marked area includes some of the high peaks 1200 meters in the sanctuary falling within the rajapalayam range the forest staff will carry the saplings to the remote terrains and finish planting them before monsoon intensifies we received good rains in the sanctuary limits in the last few days with monsoons ahead the chances for saplings survival are higher a senior wildlife official said the sanctuary has also received funds to remove lantana camara from another 20 hectares and the work will start shortly the official said while the tree planting is currently on in the sanctuary the chief ministers massive tree planting drive will be carried out in the nonforest areas two lakh saplings will be planted this season said a venkatesh conservator of forest for virudhunagar circle the tree species selected for nonforest areas are neem pungam pongamia pinnata vagai indian walnut and neermarudhu terminalia arjuna the planting drive will be undertaken both in the sanctuary and the nonforest areas of virudhunagar district in the nonforest areas mainly community lands we will plant the native tree varieties we have been identifying the places where it is possible for public to nurture the planted saplings he said fodder tree species to be developed in 20 hectares of sanctuary two lakh trees will be planted in nonforest areas of the district lantana camara to be removed from another 20 hectares of santuary this year fodder tree species include thani terminalia bellirica jackfruit artocarpus heterophyllus koonthalpanai caryota urens vilvam aegle marmelos vilamaram feronia elephantum and bamboo trees tree species identified for nonforest areas are neem pungam pongamia pinnata vagai indian walnut and neermarudhu terminalia arjuna growth of the fodder tree will prevent animals from straying out of forest