Jumbo intrusions: Gudalur villagers stage sit-in stir

COIMBATORE: Villagers of a residential neighbourhood in Gudalur staged a sit-in protest on Sunday, demanding that the forest department take concrete measures to prevent a three-member elephant herd from frequenting their locality.

The three wild elephants were habituated to frequent Ambalamoola village in the Sri Madurai Panchayat near Gudalur. As the elephant herd strayed into a farm in Vadavayal on Sunday, causing widespread damage to crops, the villagers began driving them away by making loud noises.

The elephants, however, ran into tea estates and residential areas instead of retreating into the forest.

The elephants moved near a church, triggering panic among people who came for their morning prayers. The elephants were finally driven away by villagers, who claimed that the three elephants had been camping in their locality for the last month.

Demanding concrete steps to prevent the recurring intrusion of three elephants, the villagers began a sit-in protest on the road leading to Manvayal area on Sunday morning. Traffic was disrupted on the stretch due to a protest.

On receiving information, the Gudalur police and forest department staff rushed to the spot and held talks with the agitating villagers.

After an hour-long protest, the protesting villagers withdrew their agitation, assuring to facilitate talks with senior forest officials to resolve the issue.

In around a week, three people were trampled to death by wild elephants in the Nilgiris, Coimbatore, and Erode districts.