A wild tusker locally called Padayappa blocked a cement-laden lorry at Neymakkad near Munnar on Monday morning. According to local public, Padayappa entered the Munnar-Udumalpet interstate road at Neymakkad around 8.30 a.m.
The tusker blocked the heavy duty vehicle and tried to push it away using its trunk. The jumbo disrupted traffic on the highway for one hour and even camped on the main road.
Local public and plantation workers raised alarm, while the tusker later moved to a tea plantation. According to residents in the area, the tusker had been camping in Thenmala and Gundumala areas near Munnar for the past two days. According to Forest department sources, the tusker ventured out onto the road in search of food.
On Monday evening, the tusker again moved out onto the main road in Neymakkad and damaged a parked car and a two-wheeler. People here narrowly escaped once they spotted the wild elephant. Later, the tusker wandered into a nearby tea plantation.
In March 2023, the tusker had disrupted the Munnar-Udumalpet route traffic near Neymakkad over three times. Padayappa had then blocked a Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus and broke its windscreen near Neymakkad.
According to Forest department sources, for the past several months, the wild tusker had been spotted in and around Munnar hill station.
