PARVATHIPURAM-MANYAM: Services of a number of trains were disrupted after a herd of seven elephants strayed onto the railway track near Arthamvalasa village under Komarada Mandal in Parvathipuram-Manyam district on Sunday.
Kurupam range forest officials reached the spot and sounded a high alert on the Visakhapatnam-Rayagada railway line after receiving information about the herd from locals. Subsequently, several trains were stopped at various railway stations in the region as the jumbos wandered on the track for a while.
Railway traffic on the line was resumed only after elephant trackers successfully moved the herd to the nearby hills in Arthamvalasa. According to the sources, a herd consisting of eight elephants has been creating havoc by destroying standing crops such as paddy, banana, and sugarcane in various mandals under Parvathipuram-Manyam district for the past few months. One male adult elephant named Hari separated from the herd and ventured into Odisha territory in search of food, while the remaining seven jumbos ventured into Arthamvalasa.
Elephant monitoring cell in-charge officer, Manikanteswar said, “Now, the herd consisting of seven elephants has been traced on the outskirts of Arthamvalasa under Komarada mandal. The male tusker Hari ventured into Odisha territory in search of food. We have informed the railway officials regarding the movement of the elephants along the railway track. We have been continuously monitoring the movement of wild elephants.”