Andhra Pradesh Forest and Environment Minister Pawan Kalyan on Sunday directed forest department officials to use drones to monitor the movements of elephant herds roaming in the Erravaripalem area near Chandragiri in Tirupati district.
He asked the officials to use drones to trace the paths of elephants and keep the residents of nearby villages informed.
Deputy Chief Minister and Forest and Environment Minister Pawan Kalyan held teleconferencing with forest department officials on Sunday. The conversation was about reports that elephants from the Seshachalam forest area were roaming in two herds and destroying crops in the fields on the edge of the forest at night. He directed the forest, revenue and police departments to work together to minimize the loss of life and property.
Pawan Kalyan suggested making arrangements for special patrolling at night in the villages adjacent to the forest. He stressed the need to raise awareness among people in sensitive areas to prevent them from going to fields at night and implement necessary safety measures.
Instructions were given to take necessary steps in advance to prevent loss of life and property due to elephants. It was directed that warnings should be given in villages through loudspeakers, mobile messages and local information systems.
He said the authorities should continuously monitor the situation and deploy 'Hanuman' teams wherever necessary to ensure public safety. Besides, it should also be ensured that the ground level employees remain alert round the clock.
Pawan Kalyan appealed to the public to remain alert and strictly follow the guidelines issued by the forest department officials. He said that as soon as the officials prepare the report of crop loss, compensation will be given immediately through the forest department.
Pawan Kalyan had said on August 13 that by deploying 'Kumki' elephants to stop the wild elephants from causing havoc, there has been a 70 per cent reduction in the cases of human deaths in the areas adjacent to the forest.
Actually 'Kumki' elephants are trained pet elephants. The forest department uses them to control wild elephants, drive them away from populated areas and in rescue operations.
Addressing the national level celebrations of World Elephant Day, he said that elephant-human conflict management has also reduced crop losses.
With the help of the Karnataka government, four 'Kumki' elephants were brought and specially trained to help prevent human-wildlife conflict, he said. He said that these measures are yielding positive results in the agency areas.