4 elephants stray into Sikharchandi Hill in Bhubaneswar, forest dept on toes

The Sikharchandi Hills, in the Temple city of Bhubaneswar, had visitors from the wild- a herd of four elephants, triggering panic among the locals on Friday.

The herd comprising four elephants has reportedly strayed into Sikharchandi from the nearby Bharatpur forest, reports said. The wild guests were spotted moving around in the Sikharchandi forest.

Meanwhile, the forest department swung into action and is on high alert mode. They are keeping track of the movements of the four pachyderms as they might stray into human habitats in the Capital city.

Chandaka DFO Mohammad Jamil confirmed that four elephants were spotted near the Sikharchandi hill in Bhubaneswar.

“Four elephants have been spotted near Sikharchandi Hill. They have strayed from Bharatpur forest,” Jamil said. 

However, forest officials stated that there was nothing to worry about as the elephants would return back to Chandaka forest before sunset. As there are several shops and a few human settlements on the route of the elephants to Chandaka, the forest officials are keeping a watch on their movements.

The pachyderms were first spotted by local residents in the area who then alerted the forest department.

“There are four elephants and they strayed at around 1:30 am at night. They have come from Bharatpur and have gone towards Sikharchandi. There is a tusker, a calf, and two female elephants among the four pachyderms. We have spread the word and no one is allowed to go that area,” said forest personnel.

 

(Reported by Archana Satpathy, OTV)