Stray elephant on National Highway disrupts vehicular movement in Odisha

Traffic along National Highway-16 between Jaraka and Barabati in Odisha's Jajpur district was disrupted for approximately 45 minutes on Wednesday due to a wild elephant causing a disturbance, according to police reports.

It is believed that the elephant wandered into the area from the Tomka Reserve Forest in Jajpur district.

For about 45 minutes, the elephant traversed the highway, trailed at a distance by three forest department vehicles. Eventually, the animal left the road and moved towards nearby agricultural fields.

Officials noted that the wild tusker had ventured into villages within the Jajpur, Rasulpur, and Dharmasala blocks of the district.

Residents of Chainipur and Ganeswarpur villages in the Jajpur block reported spotting the wild elephant on Tuesday night. When they attempted to chase the animal by beating drums and displaying lights, it moved towards Baruan in the district.

In Rajendrapur village, situated in the Rasulpur block, locals observed the elephant in the early hours of Wednesday. The elephant caused damage to some vegetable crops, prompting residents to pursue it, after which it headed towards the Dharmasala area.

The elephant then crossed Gopalpur, Prathama Kandi, and Barabati villages before reaching Deuli village later that morning. It then made its way to the Gokarneswar temple and arrived at National Highway 16 by Wednesday morning.

Meanwhile, fear spread among the residents of Jaraka, Deuli, and Kumari villages, who stayed indoors and urged forest department officials to remove the elephant from the area as soon as possible.

Forest department officials are trying to direct the elephant toward the nearby forest to alleviate the distress felt by residents.

Despite the best efforts of the forest authorities and local police, villagers remain vigilant as fear and anxiety pervade the area, with many staying alert for any potential return of the elephant.

“We are trying to drive it away from the area and take it to its natural habitat areas of Tomka forest,” said a forest official.

However, there was no report on loss of life or property in the area, police said adding that the wild tusker was in the Rasulpur area when the last report came in.