ANANTAPUR: A farmer on a night-watch at his orchard suffered serious injuries in an attack by a herd of wild elephants at Kandriga village in Chandragiri mandal of Tirupati district on Wednesday.
The farmer, Manohar Reddy, was rescued by other farmers. They alerted the forest department and shifted him to Ruia hospital in Tirupati for treatment of serious injuries.
The farmer was at his orchard located closer to the reserve forest area. He suffered a fracture to his right hand and several injuries. Forest department sources said he was recovering at Ruya hospital.
The farmers said the herd of about 17 wild elephants were on the rampage for the past 20 days, targeting the standing crops, mostly orchards in Yamalapalli, Kondreddy Khandriga in Chinna Ramapuram grama panchayat, for the past 20 days.
The herd of jumbos, in search of food and water, targeted banana and other orchards and human habitations closer to the reserved forest areas.
Farmers urged the forest department to send the wild elephants back to the forests as villagers were unable to visit orchards and engage in agriculture activities.
“We are fearful of an attack from elephants. The herd of jumbos were frequently touring areas closer to our villages,” a woman farmer from Yamanapalli lamented. “I have developed one acre of my land as an orchard but this has been damaged by wild elephants,” she added.
