Andhra Pradesh’s Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan opened a new 20‑acre Kumki elephant training centre in Chittoor’s Musalimadugu village on Sunday. The site sits next to the Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary and will train local elephants—called Kumkis—to help keep wandering wild elephants out of villages and farms.
In May, the state brought four Kumki elephants from Karnataka to tackle the problem of “jumbos” that drift into Andhra Pradesh from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. These wild elephants often wander into farmlands, break crops, and can be dangerous to people. Since 2021, elephant attacks have claimed 23 lives in the Kuppam, Palamaner and Chittoor ranges and caused damage to more than 4,000 acres of crops.
Pawan Kalyan toured the centre, watched the elephants perform training drills and met the mahouts who care for them. He also gave ₹50,000 from his personal funds to the mahouts and shared a video of the elephants in action on his camera.
During the event, he unveiled Project HANUMAN (Healing and Nurturing Units for Monitoring, Aid and Nursing of Wildlife). The project will boost wildlife care, rehabilitation and conflict management by setting up rapid‑response teams, rescue units and veterinary facilities. It will also run awareness programs in nearby forest villages. Pawan Kalyan asked officials to draft a detailed roadmap with clear targets and to report progress by mid‑November.
He emphasised the role of the Kumki centre and Project HANUMAN in protecting wildlife while keeping local communities safe. As part of these efforts, officials will develop a mobile app by March 3 , 2026 to give the public real‑time updates on elephant movements. A new radio‑collaring system approved by the central government will also help track elephants and warn residents near forests.
The deputy chief minister urged farmers whose crops are at risk—especially mango orchards—to consider alternative livelihoods such as beekeeping or eco‑tourism. He urged coordination among the forest, panchayat and agriculture departments to move Project HANUMAN forward.
The new training centre and support projects aim to reduce human‑elephant conflict, protect wildlife, and help farmers secure brighter, more sustainable futures.
Source: ianslive
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