COIMBATORE: The residents of Periyanaickenpalayam experienced a two-hour power cut as elephants accidentally damaged a transformer while being chased by Forest Department officials into the wild, on Saturday. They escaped unhurt from the incident.
Sources from the Department said an elephant herd of five have been damaging farmlands in search of food for the past week at Periyanaickenpalayam.
Farmers spotted them entering the fields at Kennedy Nagar on Saturday and informed the forest department officials. Kennedy Nagar is located near the forest area.
Officials said that a 10-member team rushed to the spot and tried chasing the tuskers away by bursting crackers. The bewildered elephants ran near a transformer present near the graveyard there and brushed a wire connected with it, damaging the structure.
Luckily, the elephants were not injured in the incident and the forest personnel chased them into the forest after the two-hours, sources said. However, due to the accident, the area witnessed a power outage.
A TANGEDCO official said, "The elephants brushed the wire that holds the transformer in place and as a result, two fuse units were damaged. Our field staff rectified the issue but the area faced a power cut for two hours."