The Andhra Pradesh Forest Department has agreed to pay ₹5 lakh as compensation to the family of a Karnataka farmer who was trampled to death by an elephant at Belkonglu in Kuppam taluk on the Andhra Pradesh-Karnataka border on Saturday.
Krishnappa, 56, a resident of Kurubur in Bangarpet taluk in Kolar district, was killed by the furious tusker when a group of villagers had gone to see the elephants and tried to drive away the herd.
The post-mortem was conducted at a government hospital under the Rajbongur police limits in A.P. and was handed over to the deceased farmer’s family on Sunday, Bangarpet Range Forest Officer (RFO) Santhoshkumar said.
“The Forest Department officers in Chittoor district have agreed to pay compensation to Krishnappa’s family,” Mr. Santhoshkumar told The Hindu.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka and A.P. forest staff are engaged in driving away the elephant herd into the forest, he said.
The last rites of Krishnappa were held in the presence of hundreds of villagers on Sunday.
The Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha has announced it will stage a protest in front of the Forest Department office here condemning the alleged apathy of the department in controlling elephant menace.
