PDS shop damaged by elephants turns tipplers den in Vadavalli

COIMBATORE: A Public Distribution System (PDS) shop in Maruthapuram village, near Vadavalli in Coimbatore, has become an open bar for local drunkards after the civic supplies department abandoned it after wild elephants vandalised it two years ago.

In July 2023, two wild elephants, in an attempt to access the ship inside the PDS shop, broke open the steel shutter. However, the civil supplies department relocated the shop to a rented space in Abhirami Nagar rather than repairing the building and resuming services. Though this move was said to be temporary, no action has been taken to return to the building after renovation.