Coimbatore: With the rivulets in deep forests drying up even before the onset of summer, the wild elephants are straying into residential areas in the Western Ghats in search of water.
The Forest Department has issued an alert to the people against going out of their houses late in the afternoon. Around 300 families in Bodwampatty forest range in Palakkad are having sleepless nights due to the fear of roaming elephants. Even small lakes inside the forests have dried up.
The elephants mainly depend on the Walayar reservoir for water. Some of the water tanks built by the residents were emptied by the pachyderms. The Forest Department is now planning to fill up small ponds in the forests by digging bore wells.
Four people were killed in elephant attack in this region in the past three years.