Farmer trampled to death by elephant herd on AP-TN border

CHITTOOR: One farmer was trampled to death while another grievously injured as a herd of elephants went on a rampage in a remote Chittoor district village on the Andhra Pradesh-Tamil Nadu border on Sunday. The incident happened near the N Kotthur forest area falling under the Gudupalli mandal of the district.

The elephant herd has been destroying crops in the agricultural fields for over a week now after having strayed into the villages from the nearby forest area. When two farmers, Govindappa and Nagaraju of Yekala Nattham village, went into their agricultural fields to assess the situation, they came under the attack from the jumbos.

While Govindappa died on the spot after being trampled by the elephants, Nagaraju sustained grievous injuries. He was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital by other villagers. The villagers complained that no concrete measures were being taken by the forest department authorities though their villages frequently come under attack from the elephants. They demand immediate action to ensure that the elephants are herded back into the forest area to prevent further damage to their crops.