Wild tusker Padayappa attacks lorry, traffic snarls in Munnar for an hour

IDUKKI: Wild tusker Padayappa, known for its frequent friendly appearances in the Munnar area, blocked a lorry in Nyamakad Estate on Monday. The incident took place at 8:30 am this morning. Due to this, the traffic on this road was blocked for an hour.

Social media is also abuzz after the video of the incident went viral. Padyappa can be seen using its heavy tusk to move the lorry in a dangerous hairpin curve. Plantation workers made loud noises to shoo away the tusker which later turned successful.

Last December, Padayappa roamed in the gap road area and hindered the passage of vehicles. In another such incident which was reported last September, Padayappa reached the second division of Silent Valley in Munnar and completely demolished the ration shop. The plantation workers' attempt to shield the ration shop from Padayappa went futile, as the tusker broke the roof of the shop to ransack the rice and other domestic essentials.

It is normal for Padayappa to visit the estate area, only to eat some rice and vegetables grown by residents and then return to the forest.