In a tragic incident, two adivasi women in Andhra Pradesh's Srikakulam district died after they were trampled by an elephant on Monday. The deceased were identified as Gayaramma and Bodemma, both aged over 50, who hailed from Eetamanuguda hamlet in Seethampeta mandal.
Officials said that the two had gone out to collect pineapples from their field on Monday morning when an elephant which had separated from its 4-member herd while looking for water, may have turned violent and attacked the women.
Speaking to the Times of India, Srikakulam district forest officer Ch Santhi Swaroop said, “The elephant, who attacked the two women in the pineapple field, seems to have gotten separated from its herd. Only four elephants are presently roaming the forest bordering Vizianagaram and Srikakulam. All of them are aged around 12-14 years and are female."
While Gayaramma died at the spot, locals rushed Bodemma to the Rajiv Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Srikakulam town, where she succumbed to her injuries and was declared dead.
Upon learning about the incident, Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) Project Officer L Shiva Shankar and Palakonda Deputy Superintendent of Police Prem Kajal rushed to the village and consoled the locals.
Stating that the Forest Department had also been alerted about the incident, the ITDA Project Officer said that compensation would be provided from the state government's side, to the kin of the deceased.
This is also not the first such instance in the region, which is seeing an increase in man-wildlife conflicts as elephants have even wandered into villages in search of water, during the scorching summer.
Officials have stated that the government has taken several steps to ensure that the wildlife is taken care of, from digging artificial water bodies to installing solar lights near hamlets, so that wild animals stay away.
Locals too are often equipped with fireworks, which they burst, to try and scare animals that are approaching them.