Overview
- A 64–65-year-old farmer named Kittappa was trampled around 3 a.m. in Kurmanupalli, Kuppam mandal, Chittoor district, after a lone elephant entered his ragi field.
- Forest and police teams inspected the site and are tracking the animal’s route using fresh footprints to protect nearby villages.
- Officials said the elephant crossed from Tamil Nadu and had been involved in earlier incidents in that state.
- Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan ordered Rs 10 lakh ex gratia for the family and directed an expansion of early-warning networks, including village-level messaging for rapid alerts.
- Government and independent data show thousands of deaths from elephant encounters in recent years, with high totals in states like Odisha (624), Jharkhand (474), West Bengal (436) and Assam (383), as the Environment Ministry’s 2023 report flags about 150 corridors, many narrowed or blocked.