Wild elephants enter village near Dharmapuri

DHARMAPURI: Residents of Eriyur near Pennagaram in Dharmapuri district panicked after six wild elephants wandered into the village in the early hours of Thursday. The herd moved through farmland and ruined standing crops such as ragi, pearl millet and finger millet.On being alerted, forest department personnel reached the area and started attempts to guide the elephants back to forest. Farmers voiced anger over frequent elephant intrusions into the area in recent times. “We toil for months to raise our crops, but in a single night everything is destroyed. The govt must take strong measures to protect us and our crops,” said K Suresh, a farmer.