Braving heavy downpour, a groups of villagers on Monday squatted on a hairpin bend on Pollachi-Valparai Road demanding solution from the Forest Department in frequent human-elephant conflict due to frequent entry of elephants into the villages. Traffic was affected for more than three hours from 9.30 a.m.

The villagers demanded immediate action to prevent loss of lives and property, even as Forest Department requisitioned kumkis (tamed elephants).

“A 62-year-old man was chased and trampled to death on Saturday,” a villager said. The victim was trampled to death by the elephant at a graveyard when he was attending the funeral of a villager.

Meanwhile, in an effort to prevent further damage, the Department brought kumki Thaleem on Sunday to chase away the wild elephant. “Another kumki, Mariappan, will be brought to assist Thaleem and if necessary one more kumki will be requisitioned in the night, till the elephant is driven back into the jungles,” department sources said.