PALAKKAD OCT. 31. The two decoy elephants (thappana in Malayalam) brought here by the Forest Department to drive away wild elephants in the Attappady area got into action on Friday by chasing away a herd at Thenkara, near Mannarkkad.

The two tamed tuskers from the Muthumala elephant camp of the Tamil Nadu Forest Department got into action after a herd of wild elephants were sited near Thenkara. The forest authorities had to seek the services of a police force after a 300-strong crowd came in the way of the action. The Conservator of Forests, Amarnath Shetty, said half-day was lost because of the problems created by some local people. The department had to pay Rs. 10,000 a day for the two elephants and meet the wages and other expenses of the mahouts. He said that there seemed to be some vested interests who were not interested in curbing the menace despite a hue and cry about the lack of effective steps to solve the menace.

The Attappady area has been witnessing a number of man-elephant conflicts during the last two years. As many as seven persons and five wild elephants were killed during this period.