ERODE: Traffic on NH 948 between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka was disrupted for about an hour on Wednesday morning after a lone elephant emerged from the wild and got onto the middle of the road, looking for food from parked trucks.
The NH 948 is an important road that passes through Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) and connects Tamil Nadu with Karnataka. Around 6 am when Forest Department officials were getting ready to open the Karapallam check post in the Hasanur forest range, a lone male elephant came there.
Seeing trucks loaded with sugarcane and maize parked on the roadside near the check post, the tusker started pulling sugarcane and maize and eating it. As the elephant stood in the middle of the road, vehicles could not pass on either side. Due to this, the traffic was affected for about an hour.
Hasanur forest officials rushed to the spot and chased the elephant back into the forest. After this, the traffic on NH 948 became normal. Meanwhile, the forest department said the problem is likely to increase in the coming days. “Sugarcane harvest season has started in Samraj Nagar in Karnataka. Harvested sugarcane will be brought to Tamil Nadu in trucks. This traffic will be high for the next few months. As per the High Court order, vehicles are allowed at Bannari and Karapallam check posts only from 6 am to 9 pm.
Due to this, the vehicles arriving after or before the specified time are stopped on the roadside. The loaded trucks will attract elephants. To avoid this, we are sensitizing the trucks carrying sugarcane to arrive at the opening time of the Karapallam check post as much as possible,” a higher officer of the Forest Department said.