Tirupati woke up on April 7 to the shocking news of the movement of a elephant herd close to the city limits. The herd reportedly moved from Srikalahasti area and strayed into Renigunta mandal on Wednesday night via Krishnapuram. Panic was quite palpable among the public as well as the forest officials as the tuskers crossed the railway track to move closer to the Chennai-Tirupati Highway.
They took shelter at Thukivakam tank in view of the scorching heat wave and drank plenty of water to beat the heat, but to the officials’ dismay, started moving towards the city by dawn. This is attributed to the failure of the attempt made to stop traffic on the highway for twenty minutes to let them move to the other side.
