Chennai: Crocodiles keep residents on toes

Chennai: Residents living near Tambaram and Velechery areas are currently in for a new scare. The threat of crocodiles in a lake in the vicinity has left them troubled. But, forest officials on Friday allayed their fears, saying that they would soon translocate the reptiles swarming the Nedungundram lake.

Officials said that a resident of Nedungundram village allegedly took bath in the lake two days back, when he sensed something unusual had hit his body. He alerted the villagers, and cautioned them that it could be a crocodile. These villagers have already had such experiences in the past, and forest officials had rescued a sizeable number of crocodiles.

Villagers assembled near the lake on Friday evening and called forest officials. “Initially, we thought it could be a clay mound, but we looked through a binocular only to find a couple of crocodiles under the water,” said a forester.

The forest department had warned residents not to venture into the lake till the crocodiles were translocated. Villagers said that they were not new to such incidents, as crocodiles from Nedungundram lake would usually be out during the night time.

A resident recounted, "A few years ago, when I wanted to relieve myself at night, I saw a five-feet crocodile in front of my house, after which it was rescued by forest personnel. Several such incidents had happened in the past.”