KRISHNAGIRI: Forest department personnel in Krishnagiri district chased away more than 20 elephants from the Sanamavu reserve forest to Denkanikottai reserve forest in the early hours on Tuesday. They elephants had reached the Sanamavu forest a few weeks ago as part of their annual migration from Karnataka forests to the forests in Andhra Pradesh. Farmers wanted the forest department to chase the elephants away as they were damaging crops.Forest department personnel beat drums and burst crackers to chase the elephants away. The herd crossed the Uddanapalli – Kelamangalam road in the early hours of Monday. “We stopped traffic for a few minutes to allow the elephants to cross the road,” said a forest department official. With more than 10 elephants already camping in the Denkanikottai forest and now 20 more moved in, the forest department has warned villagers to stay safe and not to go near the forest to graze their cattle or collect firewood.
