Chittoor: In a significant step to tackle the long-standing issue of wild elephants damaging crops in Andhra Pradesh, the state government has successfully executed its first “Operation Kumki.” Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan announced that trained Kumki elephants drove a herd of wild elephants back into the forest, bringing relief to farmers in border areas.
For over 15 days, wild elephants had been attacking mango orchards in Mogili, Bangarupalem mandal of Chittoor district, causing severe losses. Acting on this, the Forest Department launched the operation from Saturday night to Sunday morning. Three Kumki elephants—Krishna, Jayanth, and Vinayak—were brought from Karnataka to lead the herd safely back into the forest. Officials said Krishna played a key role in ensuring the operation’s success.
“This is the first major step under Chief Minister Chandrababu’s leadership to protect both crops and human lives from elephant herds,” Pawan Kalyan said. He praised forest officials, mahouts, and kavadis for their efforts and thanked Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre for providing the trained elephants. Preparations are now underway for a similar operation in the Punganur forest region.
