COIMBATORE: A wild elephant having single tusk which has been roaming in Thondamuthur for the last few days damaged crops at Kembanur village on Thursday morning.
The villagers claimed that three people had a narrow escape when the animal charged at them, but the forest department has denied it.
Around 5.30 am, the tusker entered the farmland of P Nagaraj and uprooted two fully grown coconut trees and 25 saplings. It then entered the farm of S Jayaprakash after damaging the gate and fencing cables. Also, it destroyed a bore well pipe and consumed fodder crops cultivated on half-acre land
“The elephant is intruding into the village often. It damaged the bore well pipe and the compound wall last week also. I spent Rs 20,000 to fix the damage. The elephant has damaged them again. Every time we inform the forest department but there is no permanent solution. This time I requested the forest department personnel not to visit the farm,” Jayaprakash told TNIE. He said two persons were killed by the elephant in the last four months. Jayaprakash’s father Selvaraj too died due to an elephant attack in 2008.
Speaking to TNIE, N Jayaraj, District Forest Officer (DFO) said, “We are taking measures to drive the elephant back into the forest using kumki elephants. On Thursday evening, the tusker is near the CRPF camp. We have cautioned the villagers not to come outside early in the morning for few days. The elephant did not chase the three people on Thursday as claimed by the villagers. An 85-year-old elderly woman saw the elephant in close range, but it did not attempt to attack her.”