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A 1.01-minute video recorded by the lorry assistant reveals the elephant approaching the automobile and seizing the sugarcane, after which the motive force began the lorry and drove away. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The incident occurred at round 4.30 p.m. between Arepalayam Junction, close to Hasanur, and Dhimbam on the Dindigul-Mysuru National Highway (NH 948), when the lorry was transporting cane from Thalavadi to a personal sugar mill in Sathyamangalam. A 1.01-minute video recorded by the lorry assistant reveals the elephant approaching the automobile and seizing the sugarcane, after which the motive force began the lorry and drove away.
Driver Sitharaj, who was behind the wheel, informed The Hindu that the elephant, unable to drag the cane from the perimeters because the load was lined and tied, balanced itself by inserting its entrance legs on the windshield earlier than dragging out the sugarcane. “Such incidents have been frequent up to now week since harvesting started,” he stated, including that drivers usually worry for his or her security however stay helpless.
With the harvesting season underway in Thalavadi Hills, a number of lorries transport cane day by day alongside the 27-km stretch of the freeway between Karapallam check-post within the hills and Bannari check-post within the plains. Drivers stated incidents of untamed elephants intercepting sugarcane-laden lorries have been on the rise. The Forest Department has instructed farmers and lorry drivers to cowl cane hundreds with tarpaulin, a apply enforced since October 2024.
Earlier, most of such incidents occurred early within the morning or within the night, and lorry drivers have been suggested to ply after 10 a.m. However, with the change in timings, elephants at the moment are continuously ready alongside the freeway to intercept lorries.
Published – August 22, 2025 12:38 pm IST
