ERODE: Wednesday morning for the people of Mallankuzhi village near Thalavadi began with them being greeted by several wild elephants who had wandered into the area. It took nearly five hours for Forest Department officials to chase them away.
Over ten elephants from Jeerahalli forest stopped by at Mallankuzhi pond to drink water. The animals seemed to relax and play among themselves. This drew the attention of the local people and some of them threw stones at the animals. In an attempt to avoid this, the elephants entered the village.
It was then that the Forest Department was informed and officials arrived in jeeps to divert the animals back into the forest. After the exercise, the villagers were warned not to engage with elephants or go into their farmlands if the animals were there. The locals, on their part, insisted that elephant-proof trenches be dug around the villages.
For a taste of cane
While it was water that drew the herd of elephants to Mallankuzhi, many others gathered at Thimbham ghat road in Sathy to feast on the sugarcane dumped by the roadside. Some lorry crew seemed to have dumped the load there to meet the height requirement at the Bannari checkpost.
The ghat road is the main link between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The scenic road often has tourists alighting on the road to enjoy the view. On Tuesday, the people driving through were met with the sight of a herd of elephants enjoying the sugarcane treat by the side of the road.
After the incident, Forest Department officials have advised lorry crew to not dump cane in the area.