A wild elephant which got stranded on a rock in a river in spate was rescued on Monday after sluice gates of a dam were closed briefly to allow water to recede in flood-hit Thrissur district. Local people, who spotted the elephant standing on the rock in the Chalakudy river near here, alerted forest and police officials, following which it was decided to down the shutters of the Peringalkuthu dam upstream to enable the animal move to safety, officials said. The animal was rescued after three sluice gates of the dam were shut for some time and the water level in the river came down.
Meanwhile, the Athirappilly waterfalls was opened for public with restricted access. The site was out of bounds for several days in view of heavy flow of water.