Jumbo sneaks into CDA

CUTTACK:  Panic gripped residents of CDA Sector-8 here after an elephant was spotted in the locality on Monday morning.Sources said a herd of 18 to 20 elephants was moving towards Chandaka forest on Sunday night. Attracted towards the plantation undertaken by the Forest department, a tusker got separated from the herd and strayed into the locality by crossing Kathajodi river.  

On being informed about the elephant, a joint team of Forest officials and police rushed to the spot. They tried to drive away the jumbo by bursting firecrackers and lighting flames. The frightened tusker then moved out of the forest area near CDA Sector-8.  

“Currently the elephant is in the forest near Prachi hospital. Its movement is being constantly monitored by our staff,” said Cuttack Range ACF Bikram Dev Pattnaik. He hoped that the elephant would return by the night. 

While vehicular movement has been prohibited in the area to avoid any untoward incident, locals have been advised to stay at home and choose alternate road for communication. Notably, this is the third instance in the year where an elephant has created panic on the outskirts of the Millennium City.