Residents of Pranahita river bank on the edge due to tusker’s presence

The elephant was initially spotted at Palleprakriti Vanam on the outskirts of Kammargaon village in Penchikalpet mandal earlier in the day.

Kumram Bheem Asifabad: Residents on the banks of the Pranahita, not only in Penchikalpet and Bejjur mandals, but also in several parts of Gadchiroli district of neighboring Maharashtra are in a grip of fear with the rogue wild elephant sighted on a hillock near Murliguda in Penchikalpet mandal on Friday.

The elephant was initially spotted at Palleprakriti Vanam on the outskirts of Kammargaon village in Penchikalpet mandal earlier in the day. It then reached Musalamma gutta near Murliguda, a bordering village on the banks of Pranahita river which forms the eastern boundary of Telangana with Maharashtra, forest officials confirmed.

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In a video released by the forest department, the wild tusker was seen crossing a road near the hillock, while an auto-rickshaw was parked on the stretch. “The auto-rickshaw driver and passengers were safe. The elephant seemed to be calm at the time of crossing the road. Field staffers are tracking the movement of the elephant,” Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Mohan Chandra Pargaien said.

Since the border of Maharashtra is barely 8 km from Kammergaon, the forest officials expected that the elephant might go to Maharashtra shortly.

Similarly, Devalamarri, Aheri, Katepalli, Watra S, Watra K, Modumtura, Indaram S and many other villages of Gadchiroli district on the other side of Pranahita river were also on the edge after local officials warned that the elephant might reenter Maharashtra at any point of time. Incidentally, four persons were trampled to death by elephants in Gadchiroli district from September to December of 2023 alone, as per officials of the forest department.