CHITTOOR: A farmer was Trampled to death by a herd of wild elephants at Jogivaripalle in Sadum mandal of Chittoor district in the early hours of Thursday. The incident took place when the farmer, Ellappa, was sleeping at his agriculture field.
Ellappa, who received severe head injuries in the attack of elephants, was shifted to Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences in Tirupati, but he died while undergoing treatment.
In another incident, a herd of wild elephants created a flutter by entering into habitations in Pitchatoor mandal of Satyavedu Assembly constituency. The herd raided crops and plantations in the villages of Keelapudi, Veluru Vengalathuru, Pitchatoor, Ramapuram. Villagers said the wild elephants, which entered the agricultural fields on Wednesday night, continued their rampage even on Thursday and damaged a large extent of crops.
Forest officials said they roped in drum-beaters and were using firecrackers and other measures to drive away the elephants back into the forest to avoid further damage to agricultural crops.
Elephant herd near Tirumala
A wild elephant tried to attack a two-wheeler rider near Papavinasam reservoir in Tirumala on Thursday morning. Forest officials reached the spot and tried to send the elephants back into the forest.
The herd of six wild elephants has been roaming around Tirumala for the past 20 days. The herd was spotted at Sri Venkateswara National Park at Kodur Road first and after two-days it reached the Tirumala hills. Before reaching Tirumala, the herd reportedly stayed on the ghat road for a week.