Rayagada: Jumbo charges towards bus, passengers panic

Rayagada: An elephant charged towards a private bus at Artam village in Andhra Pradesh close to Rayagada on Monday and damaged its windshield with its trunk. There was panic among the passengers as the tusker blocked the traffic. A video of the elephant attack on the bus has gone viral on the social media. Passengers of the bus were seen getting down and running away in panic. People can be heard screaming as the elephant came charging in towards the bus. However, no one was injured in the incident.

The Parvathipuram-Kalyansinghpur bus driver reversed the vehicle. The passengers heaved a sigh of relief when the elephant moved away from the bus. It was then seen chasing a few persons who had gathered around.

This elephant, along with four others, is moving along Thotapalli reservoir on the other side of Nagabali river. On being informed, forest officials rushed to the spot and advised people not to panic.

Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border areas are losing their forest cover leading to elephants invading human settlements. Some say the elephant must have become aggressive after consuming ‘mahua’ liquor.

Environmentalist Rajib Pandit said, “we have to find out the reason why was the elephant compelled to move towards human settlements.”

T K Rajaram, a retired forester, said the days are not far when wild animals will be seen roaming in human settlements due to the vanishing forest.