An 18-member herd of wild elephants emerged on the railway track, leading to holding up of traffic for an hour. The pachyderms destroyed crops along the railway track.
The forest officials and locals said the menacing herd from the Tamil Badu forests crossed into Kuppam at 1.30 am, and started moving along the railway track at Mallur, near Kuppam railway station. The forest officials contacted the railway officials and sought them to slow down the rail traffic on the Chennai-Bangalore section. The Kaveri Express was halted for about 15 minutes, allowing the pachyderms to safely cross the tracks. A couple of goods trains were also held up on the section. The officials at Jollarpettai railway junction were also informed about the movement of elephants.
The forest officials said a herd of 11-elephants were spotted at Balla near Kuppam in the morning, while another group had crossed into Tamil Nadu. Damage of crops was reported at long stretches in Avulanattam, Pathichenu, Kusuru and Puligunda hamlets.
Divisional Forest Officer (Chittoor West) T. Chakrapani rushed to Kuppam to monitor the situation. About 80 personnel of the department, including watchers, trackers and beat officers, were spread into the vulnerable villages. A senior official told The Hindu that in case of emergency, steps would be taken to deploy wildlife management experts to tackle the elephants. The proximity of the herd to the human habitations is causing worry among officials and villagers.