Kuppam: The elephant problem in Kolar has become more worrisome. A week after a herd of elephants entered Kolar district for the first time, a farmer was trampled to death by elephants on Monday night in a village of Bangarpet Taluk. That’s not all. About 22 elephants marched directly into Kuppam Town in Andhra Pradesh and have taken shelter around the town lake since Tuesday morning. Forest officials are still unable to come up with an estimate of the total number of elephants on the loose, but if field officers are to be believed, there are close to 50 wild elephants now roaming in Kolar and the Kuppam Belt.
Last week, forest officials were taken aback when they spotted a herd of 20 pachyderms grazing in Kamasamudram reserve forests in Kolar district, since it was the first such spotting of elephants in this area. The same herd must have moved further, spreading havoc among villagers here.
“The deceased, Narasimha Reddy, 45, was unaware of elephant movement. He and two other farmers were guarding their fields from raids on crops by wild boar. The farmers were oblivious of the presence of the massive creatures until the elephants came too close for comfort. Then they ran for their lives, panic-stricken and in the melee one of the elephants killed Narasimha,” reported a forest official from Kolar Division.
Villagers in Kuppam are amazed to see the giant beasts roaming amidst buildings and temples. “Old residents here talk about elephant movement some 20 years ago. But there are no confirmations on whether the elephants really came to Kuppam. In the last few years, the biodiversity and water resources around Kuppam have improved and this might have drawn the elephants here in such large numbers,” said Balaram, a resident of Kuppam.
Forest officials are now planning to form teams headed by officials from TN, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, to manage elephants in a non-elephant habitat.
