Bhubaneswar: A tusker strayed into the horticulture farm of Odisha University of Agruculture and Technology (OUAT) at Ghatikia on city outskirts, creating panic among residents. The elephant is believed to have come from the nearby Chandaka-Damapara sanctuary.

A forest official said the tusker was part of a herd of elephants that had migrated from the Athagarh forest a few weeks ago.

"The tusker got separated from the herd and has been roaming in the Chandaka forest for the past two weeks," a forest official said.

The tusker was first spotted at the OUAT farm and later moved to the nearby research garden, which is a vast area and has a forest. "Elephants do not move during the day, but public disturbance has forced it to change location. We confined it to the garden in the day to avoid damage," said a forest official.

Divisional forest officer, Chandaka, Kedar Kumar Swain said 25 forest officials had been deployed to drive away the tusker to the Chandaka forest.

"Police personnel have also been assisting us to drive away the elephant. We are hopeful that the tusker will be driven away by this night," said Swain.

"Elephants have been venturing into human habitat several times in recent past. The elephants have not only destroyed public properties, but also killed a number of domestic animals. Forest officials should strengthen the boundary wall of the sanctuary to prevent elephants from straying into human habitation," said Pravati Sahu, a resident of Bharatpur.

The Chandaka-Damapara wildlife sanctuary is spread over 193 sqkm and was designated as an elephant reserve in 1982. The sanctuary at the point of time was home to more than 120 elephants. According to official statistics, the sanctuary had 83 elephants in 1999. But the figure depleted with the 2017 census spotting only one elephant. The increase of human activities and depletion food in the forest forced the elephants to move to greener pastures.