Rourkela: The wild tusker which had been spreading a reign of terror in the Bonai forest division for some time, is back to terrorise the people after a period of lull. The elephant was part of a 17-member herd that moves around in the Deogarh and Bonai forest divisions. “It (the elephant) returned Saturday afternoon and we saw it. This is a big male elephant and has either been driven out of the herd or has left on its own. Hence it is very dangerous and is always in a rampaging mood,” said Samar Pradhan, a resident of Banderpalli. People are in a state of panic as in the past, the elephant had entered Bonai town. “That was a harrowing night when the elephant entered Bonai. I saw the jumbo just 50 metres away from my home while it was being chased away.
Fortunately, it could not cause any damage but its presence was sufficient to spread panic among us,” said Tapan Dandia, a resident of Bonai. The lone elephant has had a very bad track record in the last one-and-a-half years. The animal first made its appearance in January 2022. So far it has killed two elderly people, one November 16, 2022, and the other November 22. One other person was lucky to survive an attack by the tusker. It had also entered Bonai town September 3 last year and went on a rampage destroying kuccha houses and foodstuff.
Locals have blamed Forest department officials for their failure to drive away the animal. Five of them were nearly manhandled November 22, the day the elephant killed a man and damaged vegetable plantations. DFO Lalit Kumar Patra said that they are watching the movements of the elephant. “My squad is tracking the animal. At the moment it is in Kalioposh forest division. It entered from the Rajamunda side. The return of elephant is certainly worrying, but we have to protect it and also see that it does not cause any damage,” Patra said. “Depending on the situation, we will soon make an effort to drive it back into the forests of Bonai division,” he added.
