Pawan Kalyan orders the kumkis to guard the herd of elephants in Chittoor to drive them back; 10 water units will be notified

Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan. File | Photo credit: Special arrangement

Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan called for constant vigil on the movement of elephants with the help of Healing And Nuturing Units for Monitoring, Aid & Nursing of Wildlife (HANUMAN) teams to check human-animal conflict in Chittoor district.

Taking stock of the tense situation in the Chittoor forests due to the movement of wild elephants on Monday (September 28, 2026), Mr. Pawan Kalyan, who also holds the portfolio of environment and forests, directed the officials to take necessary steps to push the elephants roaming around Padiputlabail back to the forests. He suggested the deployment of kumki elephants from the Musalimadugu camp.

Constant vigilance must be observed when moving elephants

•Precautionary measures should be taken to avoid human-elephant conflicts
•Provide a diversion into the forest
• Deploy Kunki elephants
•Continuous monitoring of elephant movement in collaboration with Hanuman teams, police and revenue
•अनुगुल…

— Deputy CMO, Andhra Pradesh (@APDeputyCMO) September 28, 2026

He said the priority should be public safety and necessary precautions to avoid human-elephant conflict. He was referring to concerns that a herd of 11 elephants along with two other separate elephants had been roaming around the village for almost two weeks.

The elephants posed a danger to lives and destroyed crops around the villages of Padiputlabailu, Nadimpalli and Kondakindapalli. The herd of elephants entered Mangalampeta forest beat while the other two moved towards Chittoor, Pakala, Pulicherla and Chandragiri, said Mr. Pawan Kalyan.

Water pollution

Meanwhile, Mr. Pawan Kalyan has ordered strict enforcement of laws to protect water resources from pollutants emanating from water pre-treatment units across the state, noting that the presence of harmful chemicals in excessive quantities in untreated water waste discharged into rivers, canals and estuaries poses serious danger to people.

He directed the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) to take necessary precautionary measures.

The APPCB officials informed the deputy minister that 119 water treatment units and 12 water pre-treatment units are functioning in the state and inspections are being carried out to curb the menace.

Samples were taken from 82 units and deviations in technical parameters such as pH level, floating solid waste on water and biochemical oxygen demand were identified. The 10 units that did not meet the norms were issued show cause notices and given two weeks to take corrective action.

Published – 29 Sep 2026 09:58 IST