Scooterist encounters jumbo, falls, gets injured

Madikeri: A scooter rider, who was crossing a coffee plantation near Kaimani in Ponnampet taluk, on Saturday encountered a jumbo, lost control and fell down, injuring himself.The injured rider is Armugam, 65, a resident of Poojekal near Kutta. Luckily, the elephant got back into the coffee plantation and did not charge at him. Srimangala forest department personnel who were on beat there rushed to the spot and took the injured person to Kutta Community Health Centre.Following the attack of a wild elephant on Wednesday in the same village, that killed a grower, as a precautionary measure, Virajpet MLA Ajjikuttira Ponnanna instructed forest department personnel to be on beat on the main roads, and to keep a watch on them as soon as information is received from the public about the presence of elephants. In this context, forest department was on beat on the main road, where there is a hint of the presence of wild elephants.Forest department personnel led by Srimangala RFO Aravind have taken a beat around Kutta-Kaimani from 6am to 8pm.