TENKASI: A baby elephant was killed after being washed away in the flash flood at Courtallam Falls. Bathing was banned in all the falls in Courtallam. Minister KKSSR Ramachandran inspected flood affected areas in Tenkasi district.
Following heavy rain in Courtallam Hills, a juvenile elephant was washed away in the flash flood and it moved downstream the Courtallam Main Falls. The deceased male elephant was spotted on Saturday morning. Upon information, forest department officials reached the site and retrieved the carcass of the elephant.
A senior forest department official told TNIE, the juvenile elephant was washed away in the flash flood due to incessant rain in the hills. It was around seven to eight-years-old. The deceased elephant was found around 300 metres downstream. After postmortem, the process of burying the deceased elephant will ensue, officials added.
Revenue and Disaster Management Minister KKSSR Ramachandran saw the deceased elephant. On Saturday, he visited rain-affected areas in the district. He said that due to precautionary efforts taken by the district administration, major damages were prevented.
He added that a team of 25 disaster rescue personnel were ready to rescue people in the event of a flood. Inspecting the Gundar Dam and rain-affected crops at Veerasigamani Village, the minister met 70 residents living along the Anuman riverbank in Vadakarai, who were housed in a relief camp.
District Monitoring Officer Sankar, Collector AK Kamal Kishore and others accompanied the minister.