Though the week-long havoc wreaked by the crop-raiding wild elephants from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in the Kuppam, Santipuram, Ramakuppam mandals of the Kuppam Assembly constituency and the V.Kota and Baireddipalle mandals of the Palamaner constituency has temporarily ended with the herds retreating into the thickets of the neighbouring States, the prowling of two lone elephants at the tri-State junction continues leaving the farmers in about 100 fringe villages in the grip of tension as they expect the return of the herds to their fields any time. During the last five years, movement of the wild elephants, numbering over 70 and split into five or six herds, between the two neighbouring States has become a regular phenomenon in the Kuppam region .
Two herds had barged into the fringe hamlets of the two constituencies in the third week of December, and the forest personnel could drive them back into the thickets of TN and Karnataka in separate operations during the last couple of days. Since August, the farmers of the Kuppam mandal have been familiar with the presence of a lone elephant moving along the borders of Tamil Nadu. Another single elephant problem surfaced a couple of days ago in Santhipuram mandal, when it got separated from a herd of seven pachyderms.
The farmers who are generally used to drought conditions mostly rely on horticulture crops. Since November, stretches of banana, potato, tomato and beans plantations suffered the ire of the marauding tuskers in many villages. With Sankranthi just two weeks away, the farmers get ready to harvest their crops. However, the man-animal conflict has forced them to abandon night vigils. This gives them an additional headache: scope for theft of motor pump sets and other electrical gadgets and cables by miscreants. Danger also lurks for farmers while moving in the fields during 10.00 pm-2.00 am shift of power supply. In the last two years, five farmers had been killed in the attacks of wild elephants. At the same time, seven pachyderms were reported killed in the same region, due to infighting among the herds and electrocution in the fields. The last quarter of 2015 had witnessed the presence of large herds in the V.Kota and Ramakuppam mandals.
Forest Range Officer (Kuppam), Kalappa Naidu, said all efforts were under way to prevent the man-animal conflict in the region, including strengthening of solar fencing, digging of elephant proof trenches and talks with the TN and Karnataka forest department officials, seeking their coordination in monitoring the movement of the wild elephants.
