Residents demand action against elephant menace

:Residents,mostly estate workers, have demanded action by the forest department to drive away an elephant herd moving around villages in Valparai for the last fortnight, damaging houses, a temple and a hospital.
According to police, two elephants strayed into human habitats in Kanchamalai estate early this morning and put their trunks through a window of a house where a 55-year-old man and his granddaughter were sleeping.
However on hearing the sounds, the man escaped with his granddaughter and took shelter in another house, they said.
The pachyderms then went to a nearby temple, broke the door, brought out pooja articles and left after some time

Meanwhile, four elephants entered the premises of a hospital of Thaimudi estate around 3 AM and damaged some household articles of n official, staying behind the building, police said.
Agitated villagers demanded that forest department take immediate action and drive away the elephants to deep jungles, by deploying Kumki (tamed) elephants.
Ssenior forest department officials inspected the damaged areas and assured that actoion would be taken, police said.