TIRUPATI/KADAPA: Unseasonal visitations of elephants to villages on the fringes of Seshachalam forest is spreading panic among people. The problem is particularly serious in Mamandur and Kukkaladodi areas on the borders of Kadapa and Chittoor districts. A herd of about 16 elephants forayed into some mango groves recently and caused damage to the trees in about 20 acres at Kukkaladodi in Kodur mandal of Kadapa district.Villagers, with the help of forest staff, managed to drive the elephants back into forest. It was not the first time. In the last two months, elephants entered villages on the fringes of Seshachalam forest region on many occasions.Last December, a herd of elephants ran amok in paddy fields and mango gardens belonging of 10 farmers at Dinnela village of Tsundupalle mandal.Normally, the pachyderms come out of the forest attracted by the smell of ripe mangoes during summer and also for water. However, in the latest incident, the massive beasts raided mango gardens even before the mangoes ripened, to the shock of villagers.During July and August last year, people of Pulicherla and Yerravaripallem were terror-struck with frequent forays of elephants. It was attributed to the failure of monsoon and drying up of water holes in the region. Subsequently, the forest department repaired check dams and kuntas deep in the forest to ensure that the water holes there do not dry up. Yet, people are baffled as elephants continued to venture outside the forest.Villagers blame the forest department for their misery. Numerous representations seeking effective measures to check wild animals coming into villages only fell on deaf ears, they say. “We have been urging forest officials to put a strong fence along forest borders to keep elephants at bay.But there has been no response so far,” says Subramanyam Raju, a mango farmer at Kukkaladoddi village. According to forest officials there were a couple of incidents of elephant herds entering villages in Kukkaladoddi and Mamandur regions in the last few weeks.However, there was no loss of human life, they said. Some mango trees were damaged partially and the loss is being assessed Trenches to Keep Elephants AwayTIRUPATI: T here have been representations from villagers for effective preventive measures like fencing to stop elephants from venturing outside the forest, DFO T Chakrapani said. “In fact, we have taken steps to dig elephant-proof trenches in Kukkaladodi and Mamandur areas for about 2.5 km in another two months. Similar measures were taken at Mudumali and Wayanad, which faced a similar problem,” he said.The proposed trenches will be 2.5 metres wide at the top and 1.5 metres at bottom, with a depth of two metres.Money is being diverted from other heads to meet the cost of the project as there is paucity of funds with the forest department for trenches and solar fencing on a large scale, he said. Chamala, Bhakarapet, Mamandur and other forest areas are reportedly frequented by elephants in the Seshachalam hill range, he added. According to sources, a proposal with Rs 70 lakh cost estimate was submitted to the Elephant Project of India last year, but only Rs 7 lakh was sanctioned. Experts say the government should be liberal in releasing funds to avoid animal-human conflict and protect the forests and wild life.
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