Officials of the Forest Department with the help of police succeeded to drive a tusker back to the forest on Saturday night after it had entered Hunasinakere tank in Hassan.
As many as 25 forest officers drove the animal to Seegegudda forest about 20 km from Hassan city by 11 p.m.
Hassan Deputy Commissioner had imposed prohibitory orders in the villages around Hunasinakere to help the elephant operation go smoothly. Residents near Hunasinakere, Shankha, Tejuru, and Udduru Kopplau villages were told inside their houses using the public announcement system.
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The operation began in the evening around 6 p.m. The officers took nearly two hours to convince the tusker to get out of the water.
Sivaram Babu, Deputy Conservator of Forests, told The Hindu: “We blocked traffic on the ring road and asked people not to stept out. We drove the animal back to Seegegudda forest by 10.30 p.m”. He assigned field officers to keep track of the animal to ensure it does not return to the city.
It is said that the officers had difficulty in tracing its location on Sunday morning.
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