Many students reached the SSLC examination centre at Arehalli in Belur taluk on Thursday morning from nearby villages, passing through areas where wild elephants have been roaming for the last three months.

A herd of nearly 15 elephants has been roaming around Arehalli since March. A tusker had walked into Arehalli village on the intervening night of June 18 and 19 and took a stroll on the road close to the Government Pre-University College grounds, where 275 students, from six different schools, attended the exam on Thursday.

Madan M., a student at a school in Puttur in Dakshina Kannada district, had taken the exam in Arehalli as he had come back to his native place Murahalli during the lockdown. His mother Roopa took him to the centre by her two-wheeler.

“We did not encounter elephants on the way. However, there are many elephants in our area,” said Ms. Roopa.

Nithin, a photographer at Arehalli, said he saw an elephant on the road connecting Narve and Arehalli on Wednesday evening. “They are freely moving around eating jackfruit. We don’t know what will be the situation once the elephants run out of food here,” he said.

“Earlier, we used to encounter elephants once a year or so. We have never seen herds moving around for such a long time. But, for the last three months, they have been here. Fortunately, nobody has been attacked so far,” said Amit Shetty, former zilla panchayat member of Arehalli. Around 60 elephants split into three-four herds are moving around three taluks of Sakleshpur, Alur and Belur.

The KSRTC has provided bus services to help students reach the exam centre without any difficulty. Many students reached the centre as early as 7.30 a.m., though the exam was scheduled to start at 10.30 a.m.