A herd of six wild elephants partially destroyed a ration shop on Lockhart Estate under Harrisons Malayalam Limited (HML) at Devikulam, near Munnar, on Monday morning.
According to Forest department officials, the herd, including a calf, raided the ration shop around 4 a.m. Wild elephants partially destroyed the shop and tried to eat rice.
According to local residents, the shop came under attack from wild elephants seven times over the years. “On Monday morning, the herd destroyed the ration shop and the calf entered it. The Forest department should fix solar fencing around the ration shop to protect it from further attacks,” said a resident.
Munnar Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) Job J. Neriamparampil said the Rapid Response Team (RRT) and forest watchers reached the spot immediately and chased away the wild elephants. “The herd is camping near the Lockhart Estate ground, near Devikulam, and the watchers are closely monitoring their movements,” said Mr. Neriamparampil.
On September 15, a wild tusker, locally called Padayappa, attacked the same ration shop and destroyed three sacks of rice.
