30 elephants destroy crop in 10 acres

KADAPA: A herd of thirty elephants created havoc in the fields of Dinnela village in Tsundupalle mandal in the wee hours of Thursday.The herd of elephants that broke out of the Seshachalam forest had destroyed paddy in about 10 acres of land belonging to six farmers in the village.On noticing the incursion of the pachyderms into the village, the villagers reportedly beat drums and burst crackers that drove the herd back into the forest.Tsundupalle forest staff who were alerted about the incident, rushed to the spot and drove the herd further deep into the forest and intensified patrol in that region.The elephant herd had reportedly come near the village last month but did not venture into the fields.Hence, the news was not reported to any official during that time. On Thursday, however, the elephants damaged the standing crop in ten acres of land causing huge losses to farmers.Similarly, in the last 10 years, elephants have forayed into the fields of Pincha and Udumpadu village of Tsundupalle mandal and have damaged crops. However, representations from several farmers and other people of the region to save them from the wrath of elephants went unnoticed