Elephant’s 100 km travail of relocation after Capital entry

BHUBANESWAR: A tusker that entered the capital city only to be tranquilised later had to be ferried for over 100 km in a truck as its relocation to Khurda forest division triggered angry reactions from locals across places on Wednesday. 

With no options left, the City Forest Division brought back the jumbo and left it in Chandaka Wildlife Division for its subsequent release into the wild. The tusker, about 24 years old, was first sighted near Uttara-Dhauli area on the outskirts of the city at around Tuesday midnight. Later, it moved towards Garage Chhak before heading to the nearby Sundarpada locality via Poonama gate, forest officials said. 

As it roamed the streets late in the night, forest officials and police swung into action. The teams which had a tough time in driving elephant out of the city finally managed to tranquilise it near Aiginia at around 5 am. 

But then the real challenge started. When the City forest division mounted the jumbo on a truck and ferried it to Ranpur range in Khurda forest division, locals of Arjunpur vehemently protested the relocation and blocked the road. The large gathering of onlookers only made the task of the forest officials difficult. 

As protest continued, the jumbo was then taken to Tangi range of the division where sources said the forest officials faced a similar challenge. At their wit’s end, forest staff reportedly took the jumbo to Ketakijhar nursery from where it was brought to Chandaka. 

City DFO Ajit Kumar Satpathy said the elephant was first sighted in Pipili and its movement was being monitored for last two days. “The male elephant, moving separate from its herd, has not caused any damage,” he said. 

Forest officials said the shifting would have been smooth had there not been any agitation pointing to the fact that large gathering and law and order issues have emerged as a challenge in wildlife related affairs.