Herd of jumbos destroy trees, crops in Alur

A herd of elephants numbering around 10 including a calf that had taken shelter in the surrounding villages entered Chinnahalli village on Sunday night causing anxiousness among the residents of the village.

They destroyed coconut and plantain trees in front of the houses and also stomped the standing crops causing huge losses to them.

One of the residents Jayamma sharing her grievances with the newspaper said her husband Jayaramu was trampled to death last year. Now, the elephants have rolled down coconut trees destroying them. Her neighbours Seenappa, Padmanabha, Thimmaiah and others also explained thier losses and said the losses may be estimated to be around Rs five lakh.

Gram panchayat former vice president Chandrashekar said the village has no streetlights since one year and the residents have to walk a long distance to fetch drinking water. The village has been deprived of basic amenities. Lack of streetlights is one of the main reasons for the elephants to stray into the villages, he said.

The department of forests and the government should take immediate steps to spare them from such recurring incidents, they claimed in unison. They also staged a stir raising slogans against the government seeking justice.