RAMGARH: A herd of over 50 elephants not only rescued a calf that had fallen into a well but went on a rampage and blocked the Ramgarh-Bokaro stretch of National Highway-33 in Jharkhand’s Chitarpur for around an hour to “show their anger” on Thursday night.
The herd went on destroying crops, attacked those on the road and blocked the highway for quite some time. A 35-year-old villager was tossed over along with his motorbike as he tried to pass through the herd that was crossing the highway along with a few calves, including the one that the herd had managed to rescue from a water-filled well. Police, forest department officials and a Quick Response Team (QRT) formed by the forest department stopped the traffic for nearly one hour for the safety of the commuters and to allow the herd to pass.
Ramgarh divisional forest officer Ved Prakash Kamboj told TOI that nearly 50 elephants of three herds, including their calves from neighbouring West Bengal and Bokaro and Ranchi districts had come to forests under the Gola block of Ramgarh a few days ago. The herd moved to Dulmi and Chitarpur blocks late on Thursday night.
“During their movement, one of the calves fell into the well. We were informed about it by locals. A huge crowd watched the elephants rescue the calf from a distance,” a forest official said.
Later at about 9.30 pm after the calf was out of the well, the QRT tried to disperse the jumbos from the area.
The herd went on destroying crops, attacked those on the road and blocked the highway for quite some time. A 35-year-old villager was tossed over along with his motorbike as he tried to pass through the herd that was crossing the highway along with a few calves, including the one that the herd had managed to rescue from a water-filled well. Police, forest department officials and a Quick Response Team (QRT) formed by the forest department stopped the traffic for nearly one hour for the safety of the commuters and to allow the herd to pass.
Ramgarh divisional forest officer Ved Prakash Kamboj told TOI that nearly 50 elephants of three herds, including their calves from neighbouring West Bengal and Bokaro and Ranchi districts had come to forests under the Gola block of Ramgarh a few days ago. The herd moved to Dulmi and Chitarpur blocks late on Thursday night.
“During their movement, one of the calves fell into the well. We were informed about it by locals. A huge crowd watched the elephants rescue the calf from a distance,” a forest official said.
Later at about 9.30 pm after the calf was out of the well, the QRT tried to disperse the jumbos from the area.
