Pawan Kalyan orders watch on elephant herd in Chittoor, kumkis to drive it back; 10 aqua units get notices

Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan has called for a constant vigil on the movement of elephants with the help of Healing And Nurturing 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 caused by the movement of wild elephants on Monday (September 28, 2026), Mr. Pawan Kalyan, who also holds the Environment and Forests portfolio, directed the officials to take the necessary steps to drive the elephants roaming around Padiputlabailu back into the forests. He suggested the deployment of kumki elephants from the Musalimadugu camp.

He said priority should be given to public safety and necessary precautionary measures taken to prevent human-elephant conflict. He was referring to the concerns that a herd of 11 elephants, along with two other separated elephants, had been moving around the village for nearly two weeks.

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

Water pollution

Meanwhile, Mr. Pawan Kalyan ordered strict enforcement of laws to protect the water resources from pollutants emerging from the aqua pre-processing units across the State, noting that the presence of harmful chemicals in excess quantities in untreated aqua waste being let out into rivers, canals and estuaries, posing a grave danger to the people.

He instructed the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) to take the necessary preventive measures.  

The APPCB officials informed the Deputy Chief Minister that 119 aqua processing units and 12 aqua pre-processing units were operating in the State and that inspections were being carried out to curb the menace.

Samples were collected from 82 units and variations were identified in technical parameters such as pH levels, floating solid waste on water and biochemical oxygen demand. Show-cause notices were issued to 10 units that failed to comply with the norms, and they were given two weeks to take corrective measures.