Elephants trigger panic in village

Residents of three villages near Gudalur, some 70 km from here, are panic-stricken, following the movement of a herd of elephants and a lone pachyderm, which has attacked two persons, including a woman, recently.
Police said the herd, consisting of 16 elephants, are roaming around agriculture lands, in which banana and tapioca are grown, creating fear among farmers and villagers in Cherangode, Nelliyalam and Mukkatti.
To compound their woes, a 65-year-old man was chased and attacked two days ago in Nelliyalam by a lone elephant. He is being treated in the Government Hospital, police said.
The elephant also attacked a 33-year old woman, who had come out to answer nature's call late last night from her house in Cherangode. She suffered injuries in the waist and leg, police said.

Efforts are on to drive the elephants into the jungles, forest department officials said.