Cuttack: It was early Monday morning when some locals of Chandaka and Barang spotted five elephants being swept away in the currents of the river Mahanadi, prompting them to call Athagarh and Chandaka forest division officials to rescue the pachyderms.
Sources said the locals saw the jumbos floating on the Mahanadi waters near Mundali barrage. Even as the pachyderms were trying to come ashore, their efforts were defeated by the strong currents of the river. After some time, two elephants stopped near Anantapur and moved towards Athagarh forests. However, three others were still being swept away towards Cuttack city.
Meanwhile, officials of Athagarh and Chandaka forest divisions reached the spot and closed four gates of Mundali barrage to reduce the water level downstream following which the elephants came out of the river near Naraj area. However, residents of Naraj were scared by the prospect of the jumbos straying into their villages, prompting the forest division to deploy 50 forest officials to chase away the wild animals.
As per the latest reports, the three elephants were found on a hill near Gobindpur under Chandaka forest division. Athagarh forest range officer Rabi Kumar Nayak said, “The elephants were coming from Chandaka forests to Athagarh forests when they were swept away.” However, Dampada range officer Sangram Keshari Mohanty said, “The jumbos were coming from Athagarh and were on their way to Chandaka.”
