Elephant tramples farmer to death in Manyam district

VISHAKHAPATNAM: A male elephant that got separated from the herd trampled a farmer to death at about 11 pm on Friday at Kallikota village in Komarada mandal in Parvatipuram Manyam district.

It was the fourth such incident under Komarda police station limits and the eighth in the Kurupam Assembly constituency in the district in the past few years.
The deceased was identified as 47-year-old Dasari Govind, a farmer and a native of Kotha Kallikota village.

“The elephant got separated from the herd two days ago and was roaming alone. The animal did not chase him. It was a chance encounter,’’ divisional forest officer, Manyam district Rasuna said.

She told this correspondent on Saturday that the elephant got attracted to the white shirt the farmer was wearing. Elephants get attracted to white and black colours, she said.

Sub-inspector of police, Komarada, M.J. Naidu said that Govind had gone to his farm field to estimate the water levels in it when the lone male elephant attacked him, trampling him to death in the farm field only.

The officials from the forest and police departments visited the spot, where the farmer was killed. The body has been shifted for the post-mortem.

The farmers in parts of Parvathipuram Manyam district have been facing sleepless nights as the wild elephants have been creating havoc in the region by destroying the standing crops and killing the farmers for the past few years.

Locals sought a permanent solution to the elephant menace. They said mere compensation to the family of the victim was not enough. The crop loss over the years has been huge, they said.