Jumbo sized problems continue for villagers Chittoor, Feb 8 (INN): Crops worth lakhs of rupees were destroyed by a herd of wild marauding elephants who ventured into agriculture fields on Andhra-Karnataka border at Peddaparigikunta in Gudipalle mandal in Chittoor district on Tuesday. According to reports, about 15 wild pachyderms strayed into Peddaparigikunta in Chittoor district from Karnataka forests and damaged Ragi and Sesame (Til or Nuvvulu) crops in the villages.
According to reports coming in, the elephants also damaged some houses in the village creating panic among the villagers. The villagers said complained that the pachyderms were giving sleepless nights to them. They blamed the inefficiency of forest officials in driving the pillaging herd back into the forests. They also said that the authorities were indifferent to their plight.
The villagers demanded that the government take concrete steps so that the elephants do not venture back into their agricultural fields and also compensate them for the crop loss. Earlier, the villagers in Kuppam last week complained about the straying of jumbos into their villages and damaging of crops.
Though forest officials assured the villagers of taking action, they failed to control their straying into villages. 'The huge herd is crisscrossing the thick Talakona forests and the villages on the fringe of the forest are constantly in danger of coming in their path. The elephants mostly stray in the villages from Krishnagiri and Satyamangalam forests in Karnataka and TN,' sources said.
News Posted: 8 February, 2011
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