Tirupati, Feb 25 Three devotees were trampled to death by a herd of wild elephants in Andhra Pradesh’s Annamayya district in the early hours of Tuesday.
Two others were critically injured in the incident that occurred in the forest area near Gondalakona in Obulavaripalle mandal.
Wild elephants attacked a group of devotees heading to a local temple for Shivratri celebrations around 2 a.m.
Three devotees hailing from Y. Kota died on the spot while two others were critically injured. The injured were shifted to a hospital, where their condition was stated to be critical.
The incident sent panic in the region. Forest department officials went on alert and launched an operation to drive away the elephants into forests.
Andhra Pradesh has witnessed a series of man-elephant conflicts in recent months. Rayalaseema districts bordering Tamil Nadu and Karnataka see frequent movement of wild elephants.
The movement of wild elephants has become more frequent recently in the forests of Chittoor and Tirupati regions. Last month two herds of wild elephants crossed into Seshachalam forests from neighbouring states.
The two herds, comprising 35 jumbos, are said to be competing for food, water, and dominance, creating havoc in nearby villages.
On January 18, a man was trampled to death by wild elephants in Kandulavaripally in Chittoor district.
Forest officials say depleting resources in the forests and lack of habitat have driven elephants into human settlements, resulting in significant damage to crops, property and lives.
Elephant attacks have claimed 22 lives in undivided Chittoor district since 2011. The cumulative crop loss in the region is estimated to be 233 acres since 2015.
Vizianagaram and Parvathipuram Manyam districts, bordering Odisha have also witnessed many incidents of man-elephant conflicts in recent months.
The Andhra Pradesh government last year sought help from Karnataka to address human-elephant conflict.
Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, who holds the forests portfolio, met Karnataka’s Minister for Forest and Environment Eshwar Khandre and sought the help of the Karnataka Forest Department in dealing with the problem.
The Karnataka government agreed to provide eight trained Kumi elephants to manage, drive, and capture wild elephants.
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