Dhenkanal: A herd of at least 30 elephants left people in a state of panic in Haladia Bahal village under Motanga police limits this morning after sneaking into the district and blocking roads.
The jumbos of various sizes entered into the village in the wee hours today in search of food and tried to cross the NH-55 at around 7 AM. Vehicular movement was badly hit due to the incident as commuters remained stranded on either sides of the highway for at least half an hour.
The traffic flow was restored on the highway after the forest officials reached the spot and launched efforts to disperse the herd. They were seen managing the traffic on the road to prevent any untoward incident from happening.
While no loss of crop or property has been reported in the village due to the elephant incursion people are left in a state of panic after the incident.
Notably, in a similar incident at least two elephants drew attention of onlookers near Bharatpur Reserve Forest area as they were spotted cooling themselves inside a water body. The scene continued for at least 45 minutes giving a good time for denizens busy in hectic schedules.
Ms Kalinga