Two elephants were electrocuted at Nelyahudikeri in the district in the wee hours of Monday.
An 11 kv power line passes through the coffee estate owned by Prakash and Suman Changappa at Konerira in Nelyahudikeri. The power line wires were dangling after the branches of the trees fell on them.
When the elephants were passing through the estate, they came in contact with the wire. As a result, a male and a female elephant died.
The incident came to light when the labourers were working in the plantation in the morning.
DCF Poovaiah, ACF A A Gopal and others visited the spot. Many people had gathered at the spot where the elephants were found dead.
Villagers said that more than 20 elephants move freely daily at Nelyahudikeri, Athimangala, Valnoor Tyagathoor, Abhyathmangal, Nalvathekare and other areas and have been engaged in damaging crops.
Fear has gripped the labourers
An elephant was electrocuted in the coffee estate owned by Vivek at Arekadu two months ago. Initially, the officials had decided to bury the dead bodies in the coffee plantation. However, Raitha Sangha members and local growers objected to it.
Later, the service of a crane was used to shift the bodies to the Meenukolli forest. After the post-mortem, the bodies were buried.
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