AP to borrow 8 Kumki elephants from Karnataka to deter wild herds

Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh will be soon getting eight Kumki elephants (trained captive Asian elephants) from Karnataka, to help the forest department keep the wild elephants in the forests and away from the human settlements and crops in Chittoor and the surrounding districts.

On Thursday, deputy chief minister and minister of forests Pawan Kalyan met Karnataka forest minister Eshwar Khandre in Bengaluru and discussed seven major projects between the two States.

The main agenda of the meeting was Pawan Kalyan asking the Karnataka officials to provide Kumki elephants to drive away wild elephants in Chittoor that enter villages and destroy crops before going back into the forest. Sources said that the Karnataka government responded positively to the request and has agreed to provide eight Kumki elephants.

#AndhraPradesh----

Karnataka govt will be giving 8 #Kumki elephants to Andhra Pradesh, which will help drive away wild elephants destroying the crops, in #Chittoor dist.

Deputy CM @PawanKalyan met #Karnataka Forest minister @eshwar_khandre, discussed on seven major factors… pic.twitter.com/NRIqnTcz5E

— NewsMeter (@NewsMeter_In) August 8, 2024

Experience and training of AP mahouts discussed

Explaining the conditions for providing the elephants to AP, the Karnataka forest minister said that the mahouts and kawadis in Andhra Pradesh should have the expertise and experience to handle the elephants.

The ministers and their teams from both States discussed the measures to control the menace of elephants, taming elephants and training mahouts in Andhra Pradesh.

What are Kumki elephants?

Kumkis are used to capture, calm and herd wild elephants or to lead wild elephants away during conflict situations.

Kumki elephants can be deployed strategically to manage and drive away wild elephants thereby reducing damage to crops and loss of human and elephant lives.

Wild elephants killing people and destroying crops in Chittoor

The persistent human-wildlife conflicts in the Chittoor district have been occurring for many years. The State has seen many human deaths in man-elephant conflicts.

As per reports, the elephant population in Andhra Pradesh is between 120 and 142, located mostly in four districts of Chittoor, Annamayya, Parvatipuram-Manyam and Vizianagaram.

Recently, an elephant trampled a 50-year-old person to death in Ramakuppam mandal. Farmers in many villages in the district have been repeatedly complaining about elephants reading their crops.

Red sanders smuggling and inter-state tourism discussed

Further, the two ministers discussed ways to curb red sandalwood smuggling in the Seshachalem forests. Recently, red sandalwood smugglers from Andhra Pradesh were caught by the Karnataka government and Rs 140 crore worth of red sandalwood was seized.

“There was a wide discussion in the meeting on how to use technology for the protection of forest resources. In the future, we will bring opportunities to use satellite-based surveillance in the forests. We have decided to move forward together to take strict against those who poach and smuggle wildlife,” said Pawan Kalyan in a statement.

Cultural shift in cinemas:

Addressing the media, Pawan Kalyan spoke on how there is a cultural shift in cinemas, where a hero is playing the role of smuggler, cutting down the trees.

"Around 40 years back, hero in the movie like "Gandhada Gudi" of Rajkumar played roles of officer protecting forests from poachers, while in the current movies, hero is someone who cut down the forests and is a smuggler," said PawanKalyan referring to the sandalwood smuggling in Andhra-Karnataka border.

"It's just a cinema, and I'm also part of cinema. Most of the time, I struggle to take up such roles, fearing that I would send a wrong message. Well, the cinema is different, but the cultural shift happening is most interesting," says Pawan Kalyan commenting on the recent movies based on forest and smuggling background.

It is pertinent to note that, in the Telugu movie Pushpa: The Rise starring Allu Arjun, he played a role of sandalwood smuggler. The movie sequel Pushpa 2: The Rule is one of the most awaited films.

“Both States have also decided to create a strong activity in the field of eco-tourism. We have agreed to sign a MoU with a seven-point agenda, including red sander smuggling, knowledge sharing in elephant conflict management and poaching,” Pawan Kalyan said in a statement.

With a majority of the devotees from Karnataka visiting Tirumala and Srisailam temples in Andhra Pradesh, minister Eshwar Khandre has requested Pawan Kalyan to allot suitable land in two places for the Yatri Sadan constructions to accommodate Karnataka devotees. Pawan Kalyan responded saying it will be taken to the attention of chief minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu.