Munnar: For the ninth time, the wild elephant Padayappa vandalised a ration shop owned by Vijayalakshmi at Lakkad Estate near Munnar in the wee hours of Friday. Padayappa's last attack on the shop occurred on November 24.
On Friday, the elephant tore through the shop's roofing sheet, removed two sacks of rice, and consumed the contents of one of the sacks. Vijyalakshmi's husband, Jayaram, was asleep inside at the time and upon hearing the commotion, he managed to escape through the back door. Residents nearby successfully drove away the elephant.
While retreating, Padayappa damaged pipelines supplying drinking water to the estate employees. The elephant also demolished the gate of a residence belonging to Jitendra Jha, manager of Harrison Estate, and consumed vegetables cultivated on the premises.
Roaming the Devikulam area since Thursday afternoon, the elephant raided the Kochi-Dhanushkodi National Highway several times before entering the vicinity of human habitation.
