Man killed in elephant attack in A.P.’s Parvatipuram-Manyam district

Forest department announces ₹5 lakh as compensation to the victims’ family.

A 46-year-old man, Govinda, died in an elephant attack in Kalikotla village under Komarada mandal of Parvatipuram-Manyam district of Andhra Pradesy on early hours of Saturday, November 12, 2022..

A group of animals including one tusker, four females and two calves have been roaming in the areas around Sitanagaram,-Balijipeta, Komarada, Gummalakshmipuram and other place, creating panic and scare among the villagers for the past few days.

Despite the tracking of movements of the pachyderms by the forest department, the incident occurred. Officials said that the locals were moving closely to the elephants due to curiosity, in spite of their repeated alerts..

Senior forest officials including Parvatipuram-Manyam District Forest Officer G.A.P. Prasuna visited the spot and inquired about the incident.

Ms. Prasuna told The Hindu that the government would pay ₹5 lakh compensation to the deceased family while urging people not to tease the animals which were already disturbed in the absence of assured food and water.

“The animals are moving 25 km per day. Sometimes, they are coming very near to habitations. So, people have to be very careful to protect themselves.” said Ms .Prasuna.

Vizianagaram District Forest Officer S. Venkatesh who is also monitoring the situation told The Hindu that the officials would visit Mathura in Uttar Pradesh very soon to study the rehabilitation center established to protect elephants. “After the study tour, we will submit a detailed report to the government over the possibilities of establishing conservation and rehabilitation center to protect the animals so that they would not harm people,” said Mr.Venkatesh.