A wild tusker called Padayappa raided a grocery shop at Chokkanad estate under Kanan Devan Hills Plantation just three kms from Munnar in Idukki district on Tuesday night.
K. P. Punyavel, the shop owner, said, “we informed Forest Department officials, and the Rapid Response Team (RRT) chased away the tusker.”
Mr Punyavel said that the shop had been attacked by wild elephants over 19 times from 2008 onwards.
“Padyappa tried to destroy the door of the shop. We have lost a lot of goods during these raids. But we have not got any compensation from the Forest department,” he said.
“ Two years ago we installed closed-circuit television (CCTV) in the grocery shop,” said Mr Punyavel.
Devikulam range officer P. V. Vegi said that the RRT team immediately reached the spot and chased away the tusker from the site.
According to officials, after a gap of 20 days, Padayappa roamed human habitations in Munnar.
