Land owner threatens to jump into well, where wild elephant fell in Kothamangalam, if demands not met

KOTHAMANGALAM: A wild elephant was trapped in a rectangular well in a plantation in the Placheri area of Kottappadi panchayat for almost 16 hours. A 10-year-old wild tusker fell into the well on which around 10 families depend for drinking water on Friday morning around 2 am. Around 4 pm, the forest department took the elephant out and chased it through three kilometers into the forest. The people living in Placheri demanded that the elephant be removed by tranquilizing and that the well where it fell should be made usable. In the morning, when a JCB was brought to aid rescue operations, the people stopped it and later cooperated as the forest department also stood by it. In the meantime, the local residents got angry when the elephant was taken out and chased away.

The land owner and his wife threatened to jump into the well if their demand was not accepted. As it is a residential area, the local residents demanded that the elephant should be captured after tranquilizing it or else there will be more trouble if the elephant comes back.