Rourkela, April 28: A herd of elephants entered the fertiliser township on the outskirts of the city, spreading panic among the residents.

The township, which is around 6km on the north-eastern side of Rourkela, witnessed the invasion of the herd from Sonaparbat.

This herd, which earlier had 11 elephants, took shelter in Sonaudyan, in the middle of the township. The Sonaudyan has a small hillock attached to it and thick vegetation cover, which is conducive for the elephants.

"They had camped at Sonaparbat for quiet sometime, and last night, they started moving out. However, villagers crossed their path and this made the herd turn back and entered the township," said Rourkela divisional forest officer Sanjeet Kumar.

"The herd, now consisting of seven jumbos, has three males and four females. Two of them are calves," said Kumar.

The herd had broken a few boundary walls near Nabakrishnanagar, which is part of the Rourkela Municipal Corporation.

"Besides, it brought down the wall of the park before entering the city," said a forest official.