Overview

• A herd of 16 wild elephants trampled 55-year-old Ramakrishna Raju to death in Kothuru village on July 27, marking the second fatal attack in Chittoor district this month.
• Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan directed forest officials to track elephant routes regularly and doubled compensation payments to victims’ families from ₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh.
• In Chikkamagaluru’s Balehonnur, two fatal elephant encounters within five days prompted villagers to hold a bandh on July 28, blocking roads and calling for decisive action.
• Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre offered condolences to the victims’ families, promised compensation and ordered officials to capture the problem herds.
• Official data show around 25 elephant-related deaths in undivided Chittoor since 2011 and 254 wild-animal attack fatalities in Karnataka over five years, fueling demands for a scientific mitigation strategy.