Farmer trampled to death by a tusker in Piler mandal of Annamayya district

The farmer while going to his farms on a foggy morning did not notice the elephant herd and ventured close to a tusker which grabbed him with its trunk

In a shocking incident, a farmer was trampled to death by a herd of elephants at Bandarlapalle village in Piler mandal of Annamayya district in the early hours of Tuesday (October 15).

The farmer, identified as Raja Reddy, was reportedly going to his farm located close to the town to monitor his cattle herd grazing nearby, when the elephant herd suddenly emerged from nowhere and rounded him up.

According to eye witness accounts, there was thick fog and incessant drizzle during dawn, due to which the farmer had carried an umbrella with him. As the umbrella restricted the vision of his surroundings, Mr. Raja Reddy failed to notice the herd. By the time he noticed it, he was precariously close to a tusker, which killed him by grabbing him with its trunk.

Accompanied by the forest officials, Piler MLA Nallari Kishore Kumar Reddy rushed to the spot, at the intersection of Chittoor, Annamayya and Tirupati districts. After reviewing the situation, he visited the residence of the victim, paid tributes to the deceased farmer, consoled his kin and directed the forest officials to track the herd’s movement.

Lack of concerted effort

Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Reddy squarely blamed the lack of a concerted effort by the forest officials of the three districts. “The herd was in Mangalampeta area of Chittoor district on Monday (October 14), which was chased away into Piler area of Annamayya district, without properly alerting the field staff here,” he said.

The MLA called up the District Collector and District Forest Officer of Chittoor and Annamayya districts to chalk out an escape route for the herd, instead of blindly hounding them out from their respective territories.

In the same vein, he assured the farmers to ensure that the herd moved away from human habitations. When reports last came in, the elephants were found to have moved into the mango orchard belonging to Single Window Committee former president Reddeppa Reddy in Kakularampalli village.

It was the first such foray by an elephant herd in the entire Piler constituency. Elephant herds moving astray into human habitations and orchards used to be a common phenomenon in Palamaner, Puthalapattu and Punganur constituencies of Chittoor district, but their apparent migration towards Sadum, Pulicherla and Pakala mandals of Annamayya and Tirupati districts has triggered panic among the forest fringe villages.

Published - October 15, 2024 03:16 pm IST