Wild elephant goes berserk: fifteen vehicles damaged

Amila Prabath Wanasinghe and Senerath Bandara

A tense situation arose in Suriyagaswewa area on the Kekirawa-Dambulla A9 road when a wild elephant, a tusker, went berserk last Saturday morning.

The elephant had attacked about 15 vehicles and had roamed about seven kilometres on the road.

The panic stricken residents and commuters had faced many inconveniences due to this sudden incident.

Heavy traffic congestion was also reported on this route due to this. The elephant had also roamed in Galnewa and Galkiriyagama villages during the past few days.

The elephant had entered the main road when wildlife officers attempted to chase away the animal from a land in Suriyagaswewa.

It had behaved aggressively for about five hours after entering the road.

Kekirawa Police said that security was tightened in the area to prevent any accident.

Kekirawa Police officers and wildlife officers later managed to chase the elephant to Kala Wewa forest reserve.

It was also reported that the elephant was suffering from a physical disability.