Daijiworld Media Network - Puttur

Puttur, May 18: The Elephant Task Force (ETF) team from Chikkamagaluru, which had arrived in Kolthige village to drive away wild elephants that had camped in the area, has concluded its operation and returned.

The team was deployed following an incident on April 29 at Artyadka, where a wild elephant trampled a woman to death. The operation began on May 5. As the elephants have now moved towards the Kanakamajalu forest area via Anegundi, the ETF has wound up its efforts.

The six-member ETF team carried out the operation using modern equipment including tranquilizers. The team patrolled areas like Kolthige, Pambaru, and Duggala, monitoring elephant movements closely. They had tracked the elephants to Kochi and Duggala in Kolthige village and confirmed their movement toward Anegundi.

Although the ETF has returned, the forest department team is continuing the mission. Efforts are now being made to drive the elephants from the Kanakamajalu forest area into Kerala’s forest territory, said Sub-Divisional ACF Subbaya, speaking to Udayavani.

On April 29, an elephant attacked and killed a woman named Sellamma (65), a resident of CRC Colony, Artyadka in Kolthige, while she was engaged in rubber tapping at the KFDC plantation. Following this, workers had expressed fear about returning to work, stating they wouldn’t resume without proper safety measures. Tapping operations were suspended for 10 days.

Now, tapping has resumed. A task force team consisting of supervisors and workers has been formed.