A herd of around two dozen elephants created havoc have strayed into Lakshmipuram village in Kuppam mandal of Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh and caused damage to fileds. They had strayed into the State from Karnataka through the Gudupalle-Kuppam route.
The elephants reportedly entered the village around 10.30 p.m. on Monday and flattened fields before entering a water tank. Shocked by the sight of the marauding pachyderms, the villagers stayed indoors on Tuesday after alerting the forest officials.
Forest officials and guards, who arrived at the spot, were waiting for the elephants to move out of the tank.
“Irrespective of the direction they will move after coming out of the tank, either towards Karnataka or Palamaner in Andhra Pradesh, our men will start bursting crackers and beating drums to scare them back into the forests,” Divisional Forest Officer (Chittoor West) D.V. Subba Reddy told The Hindu.
The forest guards, while chasing the elephants away, have to exercise caution as there is no contiguous forest in either direction for the next 10 km. They will to ensure that the herd does not lose track and move towards the villages en route.
If everything goes well, they may cross the border by Wednesday morning, Mr. Reddy said.
