A herd of 18 wild elephants, including four sub-adults, wreaked havoc in agriculture fields in about six panchayats in Gudupalle mandal, which forms part of the Kuppam Assembly constituency, on Thursday.
The raid dealt a blow to farmers cultivating tomato and other vegetables. The elephants did not spare drip irrigation equipment either.
According to information, the herd entered the mandal from adjoining Tamil Nadu and marched through the fields across Chinna Gollapalle, Kodiganipalle, M. Kothur, Sanganapalle, Pedda Parthi Kunta villages, before retreating into the forest of Karnataka at Gudivanka village in the mandal.
The farmers near Gudupalle said that the movement of elephants was heard from 1.30 am. They cowered in fear as the pachyderms went on the rampage for about five hours. Forest officials were alerted, but by the time they reached the scene, the pachyderms had already left, villagers said.
The elephants were passing along the corridor at the tri-State junction, the officials said, adding watchers and trackers were deployed to monitor the movement of the herd and prevent it from entering fields and human habitations.