Tumkur, October 31: Efforts to drive nine elephants from Olalakallu tank in Tumkur taluk back to the forest began on Tuesday evening.
The elephants, including three calves, were spotted in the tank in the morning.
Assistant Conservator of Forests Devaraj said the elephants could have come from Advangi forest in Nelamangala taluk of Bangalore Rural district on Monday night. “We warned the people of the nearby villages not to come out of their houses in the night,” he told The Hindu. He had appealed to people against disturbing the elephants by lighting fire or bursting firecrackers near the tank or venturing near the animals.
Mr. Devaraj said a group of 30 forest personnel were at work to drive the elephants back to forests. He said they took the help of the police to control the crowds near the tank.
In July, a tusker that had separated from its herd in the Advangi forest had killed two persons in Tumkur and Chitradurga districts. The Forest Department personnel managed to drive the elephant back to the forest. Four people were killed in Tumkur and Ramanagaram districts by wild elephants in March–April.
