The forest department has intensified its efforts to capture an 11-foot-long giant crocodile in the Amaravathi river at Dharapuram, but it failed for the second consecutive day as the water inflow has been high.
Tirupur: A giant crocodile, about 11-feet long was found moving in deep waters near Arulmigu Agastheeswarar temple on the Amaravathi river in Dharapuram a few days back.
The Municipal administration promptly alerted the District forest officer to capture and relocate it, as the presence of crocodile made the public panic-stricken for the past 15 days.
A 10-member forest department team led by Kangayam Forest Ranger Dhanaraj was conducting a search and combing operation in the Amaravathi river for the last three days.
Even as the crocodile escaped by cutting off the net that had been spread out for it, the search operation slackened in the last two days.
On the first day, the forest department launched a search operation between 6:00 a.m and 8:30 a.m.
The crocodile, which was spotted near the Agastheeswarar temple on the Amaravathi old bridge went into hiding later.
The second day's attempt also ended in failure as the forest officials, who waited till late in the night waiting for the crocodile on the banks of the river, did not spot the crocodile.
“The rising water levels in the river also delayed the operation” said the Forest department team.
The fact that the crocodile has not been caught in the two-day search operation has created panic among the public.