With vehicular traffic continuing to disturb wildlife on roads passing through wildlife rich areas, an elephant overturned a jeep being driven from Ramnagar to Beerokhal on national highway 121.
The people travelling in the jeep ran from the site to avoid the irritated jumbo. Earlier on Thursday, a herd of elephants had come on this road from the jungle, stopping the traffic for some time.
Beerokhal resident RS Rawat was taking his family in his new jeep from Ramnagar to Beerokhal when the vehicle was attacked by an elephant on the stretch of the road between Mohaan and Dhangadi.
The people inside the jeep jumped out of the vehicle and managed to escape from the reach of the jumbo. On being informed about the incident, forest department personnel from the Kosi range reached the site. After much effort, the department personnel managed to send the pachyderm back towards the woods. After that they turned the jeep back up and set the uninjured Rawat family on their way to Beerokhal.
Observers point out that considering the increased frequency of elephants coming on the road, there is cause for worry as further rise in traffic and construction of roads and other infrastructure will only increase such incidents of human-wildlife conflict if necessary measures are not taken.