COIMBATORE: A single tusker entered Kathirnaickenpalayam village near Narasimmanaickenpalayam on the outskirts of the city early Tuesday morning and damaged three houses. The locals chased away the elephant by bursting crackers.
Around 1.30am, a tusker had entered the village from the foothills of Western Ghats near Anaikatti and barged into a farmhouse belonging to Chinnasamy. The elephant damaged the house while consuming rice bran stocked inside. Chinnasamy was hiding in a room while the elephant ransacked his home.
Later, the elephant had broken open the grill gate of a house belonging to Vasantha. But it could not enter the residence from the compound wall. Following this, the elephant entered a house belonging to Kuppusamy who was asleep along with his wife and children. The tusker had damaged the roof tiles and had consumed bags of rice from the kitchen. The family escaped through the back door and notified the other villagers. They collectively burst crackers and tried to chase it away.
Meanwhile, the locals informed forest department officials. “A six member elephant often entered homes in search of rice. Last year, we managed to chase the herd away. Now the same group has returned and is creating a nuisance,” said M Senthil Kumar, district forest officer, Coimbatore forest division. Additional forest department employees would be deployed in the area to monitor movement of wild animals, he added.