Elephants’ Menace Persists In Manyam District With Kumkis’ Habitat Still Incomplete

Visakhapatnam: Human-wildlife conflict continues to significantly impact normal life in Parvathipuram Manyam district, with elephants continuing to devastate livelihoods of farmers. The situation shows little sign of improvement.

Villagers will remain vulnerable to repeat elephant incursions until the elephant habitat at Guchimi in Seethanagaram mandal is ready for stationing the Kumki elephants, which can be used to counter the wild elephants. These have completely destroyed tomato crops in Kummarigunta, Kambhavalasa, Gangiregivalasa, and Ardham panchayats of Komarada mandal.

Farmers are all the more devastated as the elephants have torn apart the irrigation systems.

Farmer Kota Balakrishna, whose tomato crops and drip irrigation system have been ruined, shared the fear expressed by many farmers; they are hesitant about visiting their fields, uncertain about what they might encounter.

Forest officials acknowledge the severity of the crisis. Visakhapatnam Forest Conservator Mohammed Diwan Mydeen told Deccan Chronicle that a 400-hectare elephant habitat is being prepared at Guchimi in Seethanagaram mandal. It is expected to be ready by the end of March.

Until then, the two trained Kumki elephants, which can deal with rogue elephants, cannot be brought to the Guchimi habitat as part of a broader strategy to mitigate the human-elephant conflict.

In the past, an announcement had been made to bring the Kumki elephants by October 16, 2025, but that did not happen. The delay has left farmers forlorn. They feel the official response has not matched the urgency of their situation.

For over a decade, elephant incursions have caused significant crop and property damage in Parvathipuram Manyam district. Farmers complain that compensation for their losses is inadequate. They accuse authorities of failing to provide effective solutions.

CPM leader Kolli Sambamurthy criticised both the previous YSRC government and the current NDA coalition. He said that despite promises, such as Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan’s assurance to bring trained Kumki elephants from Karnataka, the problem persists.

“When elephants start causing destruction, forest department officials can only follow them around and do nothing else,” Sambamurthy remarked

The problem extends beyond Komarada. In the Palakonda and Kurupam constituencies, around 12 elephants roam daily, damaging crops and instilling fear among villagers. This disruption has not only affected agriculture but also social life.

“The situation is such that our sons, daughters, and grandchildren are afraid of returning to their native villages for Sankranti festivals,” said Balakrishna, highlighting the psychological toll of the conflict.

Farmers are urging the state government to act decisively. Their demands include immediate deployment of trained Kumki elephants to control wild herds. They say the herds must be driven either deeper into the forest or relocated to the Indira Gandhi Zoological Park in Visakhapatnam.