Elephants munching on spilt rice hold up traffic in Bandipur for half an hour

CHAMARAJANAGAR: Traffic on the Mysuru-Udhagamandalam highway was held up for about half an hour on Friday in the Bandipur forest as two wild elephants munched on rice fallen on the road. As a result, traffic had piled up for about 2 km on both sides of the road.

A goods vehicle carrying broken rice had spilled some of it at a curve on the road. The elephants, which had come on to the road, munched on the rice for about half an hour, holding up traffic.

Motorists complained that instances of elephants blocking the road have increased, but the Forest Department was doing nothing about it. A traffic ban is already in place in Bandipur and Mudumalai and vehicles are not allowed to ply through the forest between 9 pm and 6 am every day.