Bhubaneswar: Frequent visits of a herd of elephants to the Sikharchandi Hill and the adjoining residential areas in Bhubaneswar has triggered panic among locals.
Sourcees said the jumbos have also damaged the under construction drinking water storage project structures at Sikharchandi Hill. Their regular route seems to be Chandaka-Damapara Wildlife Sanctuary to Bharatpur Reserved Forests and then to Sikharchandi Hill.
The animals have been coming out of the forests lured by the standing crop and vegetation raised by locals on the outskirts of the city. Sometimes, from the crop fields they do return to the wild. But the green cover at the hill top seems to be another attraction for the elephants, forest department sources informed.
The recent beautification drive at Sikharchandi Hill and the ongoing drinking water storage project work have been damaged by the jumbos. Initially three elephants visited the locality a few days back. Then two others joined them. They have been a big threat to the standing crops in the nearby villages. The new plantation drive at Sikharchandi too has been affected by the herd.
There are also reports that the animals have damaged houses, boundary walls and crushed pet animals to death in the nearby villages. On being informed by local residents, forest department has formed rescue teams and special squads to monitor the activities of the elephants.
Sources said at some locations, the trench around Bharatpur Reserved Forest to restrict the entry of jumbos to the residential areas have been filled with soil and debris. Through those patches, the jumbos are coming out of the wild frequently in search of food and are creating havoc in the nearby areas.
However, it is not the first time that wild elephants have come out of forest limits and ventured into residential areas on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar. Earlier too, there have been several such instances at Rental Colony, Khandagiri and Patia, etc.
While locals have demanded immediate government steps to curb the entry of elephants into their locality, the issue seems to be far bigger than only entry of wild animals into residential areas.
Because man-animal conflict, and death of wild animals due to urbanization, modernization and industrialization seem to be the real worry. Those are the key reasons why wild animals are regularly frequenting into residential areas on the outskirts of forests in search of food.
