Bhubaneswar: A tusker sneaked into residential areas of Odisha’s capital late on Tuesday and was seen in the streets at Garage Square near Rabi Talkies around 2 am.
Later, it lumbered towards Sundarpada via Lingaraj temple and Poonama Gate, sources said.
On being informed, around 60 forest officials, including city, Khurda, and Chandaka staff, struggled the whole night to drive the elephant away. It was tranquilised near Aiginia around 5.20 am on Wednesday and its legs were tied to avoid any untoward incident. A second dose of the tranquiliser may be jabbed into the tusker if needed.
All the necessary preparation have been made and two hydra cranes and two JCBs will be used to carry the tusker to Chandaka forest.
A preliminary investigation revealed that the tusker entered the capital after wreaking havoc at Pipili in Puri.
“The tusker had entered into Pipili area and we had been driving it away since Tuesday morning. We are trying to take the wild elephant back to Chandaka. As people are gathering in large number to see the elephant, we have informed the local police about it,” said City DFO Ajit Kumar Satpathy.
No damage to property has been reported.
View this post on Instagram
