Bhubaneswar, June 25: The straying of elephants into Bhubaneswar city outskirts from Chandaka forest is giving fright to people for the last two days.
A tusker strayed into Andharua area and walked on the Bhratpur-Andharua road on Sunday night and now roaming in the nearby forest giving sleepless nights to locals.
The Bharatput forest under Chandaka-Damapada wildlife sanctuary is house to elephants. The wild animals roam freely in the forest in herds. However, due to growing urbanisation and felling of trees they are straying into the city at night in search of food.
Thousands of commuters use the Khandagiri-Chandaka road that connects with Cuttack, Athagarh, Angul and Dhenkanal. The moving of elephants on the road has created panic among the commuters and lack of streetlight at many places on the road has just worsened the situation.
Though no death due to elephant attack has been reported so far, damaging of boundaries, trees and cultivation is a common affair in the area. Anelephant calf was spotted in the GA Colony of Bharatpur on June 21
