Elephant herd damages ration shop near Coimbatore

A herd of elephants damaged a public distribution system (PDS) shop near Thadagam in Coimbatore district in the early hours of Monday and ate ration rice that was stacked inside.

The ration shop at Nanjundapuram village near Thadagam was damaged by wild elephants around 1 a.m. on Monday.

Forest Department staff said a small herd of elephants that strayed into Nanjundapuram village approached the PDS shop. They broke open the front door made of metal grill and one young elephant from the herd entered the building. It broke open the wooden door of the room in which rice and other provisions were kept.

“The elephant pulled out rice bags from the room and brought them to the front door. The elephants tore the bags, ate the rice and scattered it all over the floor. The frontline staff rushed to the spot after receiving an alert and drove them out,” said a Forest Department official. The licensee of the PDS shop has reported a loss of about 100 kg of ration rice to the Forest Department.

According to the Forest Department, more than 10 elephants have been entering villages near Thadagam for the past few days. “Two border night patrol teams, each comprising seven people, will carry out patrols in Nanjundapuram and nearby villages from Monday,” added the official.

Published - November 25, 2024 06:42 pm IST