27-05-2025
Elephants devastate mango orchard in Garugubilli
Garugubilli (Vizianagaram): Wild elephants stormed into a mango orchard near the Thotapalli Jattu Trust, destroying a nearly ripened crop just days before harvest in Garugubilli mandal of Parvathipuram district. The incident has left local farmer Lopinti Venkayya and his family devastated, as the orchard was their sole source of livelihood.
Venkayya was allotted one acre of D-patta land under a government scheme with the support of the SC Corporation. Since then, he has cultivated mangoes to sustain his family. 'This year's crop was just two to three days away from being harvested. Everything is lost now,' he said.
Though the Jattu Trust helped fence the orchard this year, preventing theft, it could not stop the rampaging elephants.
D. Pari Naidu, founder of the Jattu Trust visited the orchard and said that the elephants uprooted several trees, snapped branches, and shook fruits from the trees, resulting in an estimated loss of nearly Rs50,000. 'Had there been night patrols or trained personnel to monitor wildlife movement, this could have been avoided,' said
Trust members and locals are now on edge, worried about future incidents.
