Balasore: In yet another incident of elephant incursion in the state, a herd of at least 24 jumbos sneaked into the Nilagiri Forest Range in Balasore district last night leaving people in a state of panic.
The herd comprising of jumbos of different age groups entered to the district through forests of Durgadevi area from Asanbani and Nadapur jungles of neighbouring Mayurbhanj district late in the night.
After getting intimation from the villagers inhabiting nearby villages, forest officials from Nilagiri chased the herd to keep it away from human habitats. The pachyderms fled to Gopalpur forest via Pundala and Kathapala area later, says reports.
While no damage to life and property has been caused by the jumbos so far, forest officials have surrounded the Gopalpur forest as a precautionary measure to avoid any kind of eventuality.