Chakkakomban damages ration shop, pulls out wheat flour sack; locals chase elephant away

IDUKKI: A wild elephant known as Chakkakomban damaged a ration shop at Anayirankal in Idukki early Friday morning. The elephant reached the shop around 4 am and then destroyed the shop’s board and the front metal sheet before breaking through the wall. It then took out a sack of wheat flour and started eating it. Hearing the noise, the locals rushed to the spot and drove the elephant away by making loud sounds.

Residents said Chakkakompan had earlier been a frequent visitor to a ration shop in the nearby Panniyar Estate area. However, after fencing, the elephant stopped entering that location. The locals had repeatedly urged the forest department to install a fence around the ration shop and nearby houses at Anayirankal as well, but no action was taken. They allege that the shop owner is now being forced to bear the losses caused by the attack.

The attack of the elephant in residential areas has intensified in residential areas of Idukki. Another wild elephant Padayappa also damaged a ration shop in the Munnar estate region the other day. In a separate incident, Padayappa destroyed a bus waiting shelter and an adjacent grocery store in Silent Valley Estate, damaging food items and other goods, causing an estimated loss of around Rs 1.5 lakh.

The latest attack occurred early yesterday morning. Padayappa has been regularly entering divisions 1 and 2 of the Silent Valley Estate for the past month, leaving estate workers and local residents living in fear. The elephant has also been causing widespread destruction to agricultural fields in the area.