All the five elephants which were swept away while crossing the Mahanadi river near the Mundali Barrage on Monday morning swam to safer places near the Naraj Barrage on the outskirts of Cuttack city in the afternoon and found their ways into the jungles by the evening, said the forest officials overseeing the rescue of the pachyderms throughout the day.
“At least five elephants, including two calves, of a herd of around 20 were trapped in the heavy current while crossing the river near Athagarh.
A sudden release of flood waters at the Mundali Barrage trapped them. Soon, they were swept away and detached from the herd.
Only after the Mundali Barrage gates in the downstream were opened to release the excess water, the elephants swam to safer places,” said Forest Ranger RK Nayak.
Struggling in floodwaters for nearly five hours and swept away for over 15 km, the elephants appeared very tired and tense as they managed to reach the right embankment of the river.
“Taking rest for about an hour, the elephants found their way back to the Athagarh forest in the evening,” Nayak said, adding that forest officials succeeded in convincing local villagers not to disturb the stressed animals.