Bhawanipatna: A wild elephant that had fallen into a huge ditch was rescued after 6-hour operation by Forest officials and Fire services personnel in Odish’s Kalahandi district on Monday.
According to sources, a herd of around 20 elephants had come to the area under Kesinga forest division of the district a few days back. The herd not only devoured the paddy crop in many villages but also damaged the crop in several acres during the period.
It is suspected that one of those elephants strayed from the herd and came to Sourapadar villager under Kesinga forest division on Sunday night. While roaming around, the elephant fell into the huge ditch near the edge of the forest on the outskirts of the village.
As the ditch has a little water, it soon turned muddy and slipper with the elephant stamping it in all directions to try to climb out. But the adult male elephant could not come out of the ditch despites his best efforts and started trumpeting that attracted the villagers in the morning.
Some villagers armed with lathis and fire went to the spot to find the elephant trapped inside the ditch and informed the Forest department.
Initially, some Forest officials came to the village and took stock of the situation. Later, a team comprising Forest officials and Fire services and police personnel was formed to carry out rescue operation. The team also took the help of a JCB earth remover in the operation.
After an arduous effort for long six hours, the rescue team managed to get the elephant out of the ditch. However, no tranquiliser was used in the operation, the sources said. Soon after being rescued, the elephant rushed into the nearby forest area.
