Wild elephant creates ruckus

A wild elephant, which could not cross the ‘elephant gate’ and trenches laid by the Forest Department, created ruckus on Chettalli Suntikoppa Road here on Friday.

A herd of elephants had strayed into a coffee estate on Thursday night and damaged the plants.

A Forest Department official said the elephant which could not cross the gate belong to Makhna elephant group and are ferocious compared to other wild elephants.   A two-wheeler rider and a car that were travellong on the route encountered the Makhna elephant.

Fearing for life, Zilla Panchayat member Sunitha and Manjunath, who were travelling in the car, ran out of the car while another person Surendra stayed back in the car.
 
Kodava Makkada Koota leader Karun Malaiah said the elephant menace has increased in the region. The elephants have damaged crops of small and marginal farmers. The travel during the night on the stretch has become a nightmare for the vehicle users, he said. The Forest Department officials, who rushed to the spot, tried to chase the elephant back to forest.

Later, to facilitate the movement of stranded elephant, the lock of the ‘elephant gate’ was opened. The trenches were filled with soil. After a two-hour  of operation, the stranded elephant returned to the forest, said villager Pappu Thimmaiah.

Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Edukundala, who visited the spot, said additional watchers would be appointed in Aanekadu reserve forest limits.  This would give a relief to the farmers to some extent in arresting the wild elephant menace in the region, he noted.