Mandya: A herd of five wild elephants that were camping at the agricultural field of Chikkamandya next to Mysuru-Bengaluru Expressway, have now moved towards Kattedoddi village nearby. However, the elephants had triggered anxious moments among locals and commuters as they had moved closer to the Expressway.

The elephants that were initially spotted at Budanur village located 2-km from Mandya town on Sunday, moved closer to the town in Chikkamandya same night, camping near a lake behind now closed Ramakrishna Theatre. Acting swiftly, Forest Department personnel took measures to restrain the jumbos from straying into the town. By last evening, the herd of pachyderms started moving and have been camping at Kattedoddi, 3-km away from Chikkamandya, according to the latest reports.

The curious villagers along with commuters on the Expressway, started thronging the theatre building and surroundings to catch a glimpse of the elephants.  As the number of people flocking the site swelled, Police dispersed them fearing the possibilities of elephants charging at the crowd.

With the elephants camping in town limits, both Forest and Police personnel were keeping a vigil on them. Besides, precautionary measures had been taken to check the possibilities of damage to public properties and threat to lives, if the animals stray into the town, as Pete Beedhi that is located at the entrance is dotted by commercial stalls. The road is also congested with heavy traffic density. The barricades were placed around the agricultural field, where the elephants were camping, besides restricting the movement of people on the service road of Expressway.

However, with the elephants moving towards Kattedoddi, which is located in the rural side, the fear of elephants straying into the town has been addressed for now.

Mandya MLA Ganiga Ravikumar visited the spot.