Bhubaneswar: A tusker was spotted at the Horticulture farm of OUAT in Ghatikia on the outskirts of the city today. It is suspected to have strayed into the farm from the nearby Chandaka forest.
Twelve forest officials have been deployed to guard the elephant and will ward it off in the evening, informed Forest Ranger of Chandaka Wildlife Division, Ashok Kumar Biswal.
The presence of the elephant has created panic among the locals as it has allegedly damaged property last night. Senior officials of the Forest department have also reached the spot to take stock of the situation.
"The tusker is presently inside our research garden which is a vast area, including a forest area. Generally elephants do not move during daytime but public disturbance has caused it to move. We have confined it to the garden for now to avoid damage to public property and will drive it out towards the forest in the evening," said Assistant Conservator of Forest, Chandaka-Dampara Wildlife Sanctuary, Himansu Sekhar Mohanty.
Meanwhile, four elephant-chasing squads have also been called from Cuttack, added Mohanty.