5 elephants rescued from pond in Mysuru

MADIKERI: Five wild elephants, stuck in a farm pond in Palangala village near Virajpet, Kodagu district since Tuesday night, were rescued by forest department and police personnel around 11am Wednesday.
The operation was delayed by villagers demanding a permanent solution to the elephant menace. Forest officials dug a trench using a JCB and made a way out for the elephants. The official burst crackers to scare them away into the forest.

Coffee grower Mittu Aiyappa and his family heard the cries of elephants around 8pm Tuesday from their house in Palangala. “Around 6am Wednesday, we found four large elephants and a calf stuck in the pond and informed forest officials,” Mittu said.

When forest department officials led by Virajpet RFO Gopal rushed to the spot, they were stopped by residents of Palangala village who demanded permanent a solution to the elephant menace. “Three people have been killed so far by elephant attacks and many have been injured. Until you give us a permanent solution, we won’t allow the rescue operation,” said Karineravanda Ramesh.

DFO Maria Chritha Raju convinced villagers that a meeting would be held soon. “The rescue was delayed by nearly two hours. We assured villagers that we’ll hold a meeting within 15 days and forward a proposal to the state government requesting permission to capture elephants. Compensation to affected growers will be released as per the norms,” the DFO said. After pacifying villagers, the elephants were rescued in a five-minute operation.

The DFO added that the elephant menace in Palangala has spiked over the past nine months due to water scarcity.

It’s the second such incident in the past fortnight. A cub elephant was sruck in the slush of the same lake and forest department authorities had rescued it using a JCB.