Keonjhar: Elephants from Jharkhand and the Similipal Tiger Reserve have yet again sneaked into forested areas of the district, sparking off fresh bouts of man-elephant conflict.

At least four persons were injured in the Champua and Bhuian Juanga Peedha forest ranges following jumbo attacks. The animals have also caused damages to crop lands stretching across about 125 acres in the forest-side villages since past one week.

"The Bhuian Juanga Peedha forest range that falls in the Banspal block administration jurisdiction has come under the elephants' invasion. Thirty-nine wild elephants from the tiger reserve in Mayurbhanj have strayed into forest areas and damaged crops. However, no report of man-elephant confrontation has been reported so far. Skilled forest personnel have stepped up vigil and are on the job to chase away the jumbos back to their original habitat," said forest range officer Muktikant Parida.

Keonjhar is home to 40 elephants according to the latest census. At present, 149 elephants are ensconced in the forest. "It's not humanly possible to prevent the acts of straying of wild elephants. We are adopting precautionary methods in alerting the people through our network. Besides, the squads are keeping tabs on the animals' movement near the railway tracks," said a forest official.

"The GPS tracking teams spot the elephants' movement. The forest department has warned the villagers not to venture into elephant-infested forest. They have been told to stay alert on possible intrusion of animals and promptly disseminate it to forest personnel," said Champua forest range officer Ghanashyam Barik.