HOSUR: A herd of 65 wild elephants that strayed from Karanataka forests have been creating havoc in areas in and around Sanamavu and Podurpallam near Udhanapalli for the past two days.
According to residents in villages on Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border, the jumbos have strayed into Udhanapalli panchayat area from Karnataka through Sinigirapalli and Bennikal villages.
On information, Hosur Division Forest Officer A K Ulaganathan deputed a team to Sanamavu region to chase the herd back into the forests. Officials are monitoring the movement of elephants since Friday. The pachyderms crossed Hosur-Royokotta Road on Friday after officials burst crackers to drive them back into the woods. Lastly, the herd was said to have moved to Podurpallam area. The sudden intrusion of the jumbos has caused much concern among farmers as the crops like ragi and paddy raised by them in villages like Beerjepalli, Sanamavu, Agaram, Onnalvadi, Royakotta and Kelamangalam are ready for harvest.
Earlier, in October, a herd of 100 pachyderms strayed into Tamil Nadu bordering villages from Karnataka and destroyed standing crops in hundreds of acres. The forest department had then chased them away after battling for over 15 days.