Elephants trample a youth to death in Srikakulam

Tension has gripped the Kothuru Mandal in Srikakulam district as a 32-year-old man got killed by a herd of elephants near Ponnaturu village. The victim, Tampitaguda Kumar, was trampled to death on Saturday night by a couple of elephants that were roaming in the area it has been reported. Kumar’s dead body was discovered in the early hours of Sunday.

Local people claim that the elephants have been coming to the city in search of food and water during the summer and are killing people. With Saturday’s event proving to be the 23rd case in the recent past, the locals are petrified and have asked the local officials and concerned departments to alert them on the movement of the elephants. It has also been learned that the villagers had a heated argument with the officials on Sunday, for allegedly neglecting their plea to send the tuskers to a zoological park. The officials, on the other hand, said that the matter was in Supreme Court and transferring the animals immediately wasn’t easy.

The rise in temperatures is being cited as one of the major reasons why the jumbos have started causing a ruckus in the area. 11 forests are known to be spotted in the area, with seven of them being new in the area, a senior official told TOI.