Farmers in the Bangarupalayam mandal of Chittoor district are incurring significant crop losses due to repeated incursions by elephants.

On Tuesday evening, a herd of about 15 elephants entered the agricultural fields of Bodabandla and Veluturichenu villages, causing damage to standing banana plantations.

Farmers voiced their dissatisfaction over the loss of their hard-earned produce and urged the forest officials to take measures to prevent such incidents.

Kodanda Yadav, a farmer, said that the plantations, which take months of hard work and resources to grow, can be ruined in one single night by the elephants, leaving them burdened with debt.

Other farmers echoed his complaint, blaming forest officials accountable for their lack of effective preventive measures.

The financial strain is exacerbated by the meagre compensation provided to those affected by elephant disturbances.

Farmers reported receiving less than 20% of the evaluated crop damage, which is far from sufficient to cover their losses. They noted that many are now falling deeper into debt with no immediate remedy in sight.

Farmers have appealed to the forest authorities for the implementation of sustainable strategies to reduce wildlife-related damages. They advocate for the installation of solar-powered electric fences to keep elephants away from their fields and the digging of deep trenches around susceptible agricultural zones.

They also sought enhancement of the forest department’s staff and utilisation of advanced monitoring systems to track elephant movement. They also called for a revision of the compensation framework, pushing for payments that accurately reflect the full extent of their losses.

An elephant tracker in Palamaner mandal observed that the human-elephant conflict in Chittoor district is a result of habitat encroachment along with a lack of food and water in forested regions, coupled with the problem in the form of migratory elephants.

Wild elephants frequently wander into farming areas in search of food, particularly during harvest times.

Officials from the forest department maintained that initiatives are in progress to confront the issue. A senior forest official assured that the department recognises the difficulties of the farmers and is formulating a strategy to set up solar fences in high-risk locations.

Compensation policies are also under review to offer better assistance to farmers.