Tension in Krishnagiri

Tension prevailed in front of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's district office in Krishnagiri on Saturday after DMK workers burst crackers to express support for Hazeena Syed, who filed her nomination for Krishnagiri Assembly segment.

Congress and DMK cadres entered into a wordy duel when former Congress MP C. Narasimhan came to the DMK office and asked his party workers to support rebel candidates who had filed their nominations as Independents. His supporters said they would work for the defeat of DMK nominee T. Senguttuvan contesting from Veppanahalli constituency. But, Mr. Narasimhan denied such a move by supporters.

Ms. Syed had to file her nominations, since the official candidate, Maqbool Jan, announced by the Congress high command, did not turn up. As a protest, eight Congressmen filed nominations as Independents. They include Agaram Krishnamoorthy, A. Thahi, A.S. Satyamoorthy, A. Ranganathan, B. Ashokan, Abdul Azeez Amanullah and Aranga Subramaniam.

Elephant herd kills man, grandson near Krishnagiri

A herd of 13 wild elephants trampled to death an old man and his three-year-old grandson near Krishnagiri on Sunday.

The incident happened at a mango orchard in Kuruparapalli near here. According to Forest Department officials, G. Kenjappan (80) lost his life while trying to save his grandson N. Narasimhan alias Dharshan. The herd killed Kenjappan first and then Dharshan, who was sleeping in a makeshift hut. Sources said Kenjappan was a watchman in the orchard for the past two months.

Timely alert

Two women and a baby, who were also inside the hut, escaped unhurt. Kenjappan's son Krishnamoorthy, who first sighted the herd while he was inspecting the orchard and alerted others, also escaped.

After the incident, the herd crossed the Bangalore-Chennai National Highway and entered the Melumalai Reserve Forests to join a pair of elephants. On receiving information about the incident, F.R. Ikram Mohammed Shah, Conservator of Forests, Dharmapuri Circle, and other officials rushed to the Government Headquarters Hospital in Krishnagiri and handed over Rs.25,000 as immediate compensation to the next of kin of Kenjappan.

Compensation

The department would hand over the remaining compensation after receiving the death and legal heir certificates from the families of the victims.

Mr. Shah, Assistant Conservator of Forests A.K. Ulaganathan and District Forest Officer C.H. Padma, Rangers R. Madheshwaran (Hosur), Raphel Reddy (Royakottai) and over 50 Forest Department employees are camping in the Melumalai area.

2 Leopatd saw by Village peoples

Two panthers, a mother and a calf, were sighted by a villager near Amman Koil Pathy village, near Pochampalli, on Monday morning. However, the crowd, which gathered near the spot could not get a glimpse of the wild cats as they reportedly went inside a sugarcane field.

A.K. Ulaganathan, District Forest Officer, told The Hindu that he along with a team of officials and employees rushed to the spot immediately on receiving information. Forest officials and Fire and Rescue Service and police personnel are camping in the area. They could identify the pug marks of a mother and calf panther in a small canal that irrigates water to the sugarcane field. To trap the animal, a cage with meat has been kept ready in the middle of the sugarcane field by the Forest Department.

Meanwhile, the department plans to write a letter to the Collector, V. Arun Roy, urging him to restrict unmindful dumping of chicken waste on the Hosur - Denkanikottai Road as it will attract panthers and wild dogs from nearby reserve forests.

Elephants cross highway, enter Shoolagiri town

Crisscross:The herd of wild elephants crossing the Krishnagiri-Bangalore
National Highway No.7 near Shoolagiri. They entered human habitations
before reaching the nearby reserve forests on Sunday.

A herd of 22 elephants from Anusonai, Udedurgam Reserve Forests in the southern side of the Krishangiri-Bangalore National Highway crossed the busy road on Sunday morning and entered into human habitations before reaching the Reserve Forests in Shoolagiri.

Eye-witnesses told The Hindu that the herd was first sighted by the people at Theagarasanampalli village and they crossed the National Highway near Shoolagiri entering into Anna Nagar, Vaniya Street and Kottai Street of the town.

A. Madhu, Assistant Conservator of Forests told The Hindu that the herd had travelled from Anusonai and Udedurgam Reserve Forests and was stationed near a hillock in the Shoolagiri Reserve Forest in the afternoon.

On the way, it caused minor damage to properties and broke some coconut trees. The damage would be assessed only after driving the pachyderms to their original route or towards Reserve Forests in Veppanahalli.

Over 50 forest officials and personnel were stationed at 50 metres distance from the animals to prevent loss to either to human or to the animals.

The operation to drive the pachyderms will be carried out in the evening with the support of the local police, as hundreds of curious public thronged to see them, he adds.

Snake charmer dies of snake bite

A snake charmer died of snake bite at Kuchadipalayam village, near Thaly in Krishnagiri district on Friday.

The police said Jayamma of the village enlisted the service of Narayanasamy, a snake charmer, when she found that a venomous snake had entered here house. Though he caught the reptile, he received bites. He was rushed to Hosur Govertnment Hospital but his life could not be saved.