Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park
| Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park | |
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| Anaimalai Tiger Reserve | |
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IUCN category II (national park)
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 Location in Tamil Nadu, India
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| Location | Coimbatore District, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Coordinates | 10°25′01″N 77°03′24″E / 10.4170°N 77.0567°ECoordinates: 10°25′01″N 77°03′24″E / 10.4170°N 77.0567°E |
| Established | 1976 |
| Governing body | Tamil Nadu Forest Department |
| forests |
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Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park (IGWLS&NP) is a protected area located in the Anaimalai Hills of Pollachi, Valparai and Udumalpet taluks of Coimbatore District and Tirupur District, Tamil Nadu state, South India.
The park is named after former Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi who visited the park on 7 October 1961. "Topslip" located in the northeast corner of the park is derived from the local 19th century practice of sliding timber logs down the hills from here.
By the mid-1800s, large tracts of Valparai plateau in the Anamalais were under intense tea or coffee plantations after deforestation of the natural forests. By 1866 two-thirds of the plantations were owned by Europeans and the remaining by Indians from coastal towns. Since most native inhabitants either refused to work or were inefficient workers, labour for plantations was brought from the plains of Tamil Nadu to clear forests and grow coffee.
Some parts of the forest however were reserved for timber including large areas around Top Slip. This part of the Western Ghats, under the Bombay Presidency were exploited extensively for teak which was supplied to the Bombay Dockyard for shipbuilding and later for railroad ties.
In 1855, this area came under sustainable forest management for teak plantations by the pioneering efforts Douglas Hamilton and Dr. H. F. Cleghorn of the new Tamil Nadu Forest Department. In the early 1900s, protection of the Karian Sholas was also ensured (Johnsingh 2006a).
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