Cuttack: At 5 am on Sunday, people of Athagarh spotted two elephants crossing river Mahanadi under jurisdiction the local forest range. The locals informed about the activity of the jumbos to forest department personnel who rushed to the spot and mounted surveillance on the movement of the elephants.
As witnessed in the past, commuters crowded Naraj barrage to catch a glimpse of the jumbos maneuvering through the waters. Forest personnel with the help of local police controlled the crowd and traffic to ensure that the elephants do not get disturbed while trying to cross the river.
According to reports, the two elephants were headed towards Brajabiharipur ghat in order to avoid the crowd. Forest officials said, once they reach the nearest ghat, efforts will be made to drive the jumbos into the jungle.
In September 2021, senior journalist Arindam Das was killed while covering an operation to rescue an elephant trapped in Mahanadi river near Mundali barrage. An ODRAF personnel, Sitaram Murmu, who was part of the rescue mission also lost his life during this operation.
Apart from other factors responsible for the tragedy, wildlife experts, senior journalists and intelligentsia pointed at the loophole in crowd management to facilitate a safe passage to the jumbo, which also could not survive the ordeal.
Taking a cue from the recent past, the local officials are taking no chances and keeping a close watch on the movement of the elephant-duo in Athagarh to ensure that they reach the river bank safely, sources said.
