RAYAGADA: Traffic from Rayagada to Parvathipuram in Andhra Pradesh (AP) was disrupted for several hours after a wild tusker went on rampage on the main road on Monday. At around 12.30 pm, the elephant appeared on the road near Artham village in Paravathipuram. Curious locals thronged the area to catch a glimpse of the jumbo. Spooked by the crowd, the tusker became aggressive and damaged several motorcycles.
A few moments later, a passenger bus from Rayagada arrived at the spot. The restive elephant charged at the bus pushing its head and trunk against the vehicle. As the windshield broke, panicked passengers alighted from the bus and ran for their lives. Videos of the incident were widely circulated on social media.
The tusker continued to block the traffic till screaming locals tried to chase it away. The elephant then charged at the people gathered at the spot. Sources said no one was injured in the incident.
On being informed, forest personnel of AP reached the spot, but the tusker had already disappeared into the nearby forest. AP forest officials suspected that the elephant came from Odisha. However, their Odisha counterparts claimed the tusker was from the neighbouring state. To prove their claim, they said in May this year, six elephants from AP forests entered Gunupur area of Rayagada district.
While returning, four elephants were electrocuted and the rest two went to AP. This elephant duo is often seen in Odisha at Khaling village near Gunupur town besides Rupapadar and Limaguda areas, they said. It is believed that the tusker seen near Artham village on the day might be one of the two elephants.People residing along the Odisha-AP border alleged that despite repeated pleas, forest officials are yet to take any step to prevent the two elephants from entering human settlements.