4 jumbos electrocuted in Kodagu

Four female elephants, including a calf, were electrocuted after they came in contact with a live electric wire at Kannangala gram panchayat near Siddapura in Kodagu district on Tuesday.

This is the second such incident in the last 14 days. Two elephants had died under similar circumstances at Ontiangadi in Kannangala Gram Panchayat on June 14.

The four elephants aged 48, 36, 6 and 3 years were found dead in the coffee estate of Boppana Viju Ganapathi. The wild elephants have been camping in Kannangala gram panchayat limits for the last few days.

The incident occurred when the elephants were foraging for fodder at Yadoor and came in contact with low-hanging electric wire. Conservator of Forests Manoj Kumar and Assistant Conservator of Forest Mariya Christu Raj visited the spot.

Residents said wild elephants have been moving frequently in Siddapura and Kannangala gram panchayats. Despite Forest department initiating measures to chase them back to the forests at Pallakere, Guhya, the menace continues.

Following the recent death of two elephants, the Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Company Ltd (Cesc) had taken up the work on raising the height of electric cables on the routes where elephants pass through in Siddapura and Polibetta gram panchayats.

A proposal on shifting the electric poles in Kannangala gram panchayat limits has already been submitted. The poles are yet to be supplied, said a Cesc engineer.