Elephant Chaos: Udupi Villages Under Siege

Wild elephants are causing significant destruction in Udupi district's deeply wooded plantations, damaging crops and irrigation systems. Fearing for their safety, villagers demand immediate action from forest officials. This unusual deviation from the elephants' traditional path has left both officials and villagers perplexed.

Wild elephants have been roaming freely in heavily wooded plantations, causing significant damage across several areas in Udupi district, officials reported on Wednesday.

The pachyderms destroyed areca, plantain, and spice plantations in Nellikatte, Nadpalu Grama Panchayat area, Hebri taluk, during the early hours of June 18 and 19.

Forest Department officials identified two individual elephants behind the incidents and are actively tracking their movements. The elephants uprooted the sprinkler and drip irrigation systems in an estate owned by Meena Poojarti in the village.

The intrusion has instilled fear among villagers, disrupting daily routines, with children kept from school and farm workers staying indoors. Villagers demand the elephants be tranquilized and relocated.

This is the first recorded instance of wild elephants entering human settlements in Hebri taluk, a region known for its forest cover. Historically, their route passes through Sullia to Naravi, and their deviation this year has baffled forest officials.

Efforts continue to determine whether these elephants are the same ones that roamed through Puttur and Sullia taluks in Dakshina Kannada district earlier last week.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)