Rourkela: An elephant wreaked havoc in Badkareichuan village, located under the K Balang forest section of Sundargarh district‘s Banki forest range, on Sunday night. During its rampage, it destroyed the boundary wall of Badkareichuan Upper Primary School, damaged a house, and broke into another residence to consume stored crops.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported as residents managed to escape. The tusker, which had strayed from the Tamda forest range in Bonai forest division, entered the village around 8pm.
K Balang forest officials were alerted by villagers and quickly responded, initiating efforts to drive the elephant away. By Monday morning, the tusker retreated to the Barusan forest range under the Bonai forest division.
Forest officials visited the affected sites on Monday to assess the damage caused by the elephant. “We are closely monitoring the tusker’s movement to prevent further incidents,” said a forest department official from K Balang.