Farmer trampled to death by tuskers in Annamayya district

Tirupati: A middle-aged farmer was trampled to death by a herd of tuskers near Bandarlapalle village in Piler mandal of Annamayya district on Tuesday morning.
According to some locals who witnessed the tragic incident, the deceased, identified as Raja Reddy, was going to his agricultural fields when he was surrounded by a herd of 10 tuskers. One of the tuskers grabbed Raja Reddy with its trunk, threw him hard on the ground and trampled him to death. Raja Reddy was carrying an umbrella and failed to notice the elephant herd as it was raining hard and visibility was poor.
Piler MLA Nallari Kishore Kumar Reddy rushed to the incident spot along with local police and forest department officials and retrieved the body after managing to drive away the tuskers. The body was handed over to the victim's family. The MLA extended his condolences and assured all possible support from the govt.
He also blamed forest department officials of Tirupati, Chittoor and Annamayya districts for failing to put up a coordinated effort in tackling the elephant menace. "On Monday, the herd was spotted near Mangalampeta in Chittoor district. Locals with the help of forest officials drove the tuskers away from there after which they entered this area. But no one alerted the forest department staff stationed here. Had there been an alert, a precious life could have been saved," he said.
The MLA spoke to the district collectors of Chittoor and Annamayya districts as well as forest department officials, and assured locals that the herd would be driven away into its natural habitat. The herd was last spotted near Kakularampalli village.