Early morning visitor from jungle breaks walls, crushes vehicles in Haridwar colony

The residents are unhappy with the forest department’s handling of such cases of animals entering residential area.

An elephant created ruckus in a residential area in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar on Sunday morning leading to panic among the residents of Bilkeshwar Colony, not far from Har-Ki-Pauri, by damaging boundary walls and vehicles parked outside.

Elephant inside the residential colony in early hours of Sunday in Haridwar (HT Photo)

In the wee hours on Sunday at around 3am, the locals were woken up by the sound of an elephant strolling in the colony lanes uprooting plants, damaging four-wheelers and turning down two-wheelers.

The residents tried to shoo away the jumbo by producing loud sounds and flashing torch lights in vain as the wild animal broke the boundary wall of the colony community centre.

By the time forest department officials arrived, the elephant had done some damage leaving residents alleging laxity in controlling jumbo intrusions in the residential area.

Shikhar Paliwal, local resident, whose car was damaged by the elephant, said in recent times, particularly since lockdown was imposed in late March, movement of wild animals has increased in their area. He noted that the ancient shrine of Bilkeshwar devoted to Lord Shiva, frequented by hundreds of pilgrims daily, is also nearby.

“It’s quite unsafe to venture out in the morning and at dusk owing to regular spotting of elephants and other wild animals. We have apprised forest department officials who have assured us of taking appropriate action but a foolproof long-term solution is needed to ensure the colony is safe from the intrusion of wild animals,” said Paliwal, who also runs a pro-Ganga Being Bhagirath Foundation.

Haridwar forest division Ranger Dinesh Naudiyal said adequate measures were being taken by the department and regular patrolling was being carried out in areas where elephants are being spotted.

Gagan Matta, assistant professor of environmental science in Gurukul Kangri University said the elephant spotted at Bilkeshwar this morning could be a new one since he seemed lost inside the colony and was caught up with dead-ends.

“Bilkeshwar colony is surrounded by monsoonal drain and elephants often intrude into this colony, but mostly through outer stretch to reach bypass road and then move into dense forest terrain. But this elephant seems to have lost its path and probably in seeking an exit route, caused damage in the colony,” said Matta.

Notably, early in April, an elephant was spotted at Har-Ki-Pauri drinking and splashing water from the Ganga. Police personnel deputed in the area had then shooed away the elephant which had come from nearby Rajaji Tiger Reserve forest terrain.

Sighting of elephants at Jagjeetpur, Ajeetpur, Missirpur, Katarpur, Panjanhedi, Jiopata, Shyampur Kangri, Laldhang and nearby residential areas on outskirts of Haridwar forest division and Rajaji Tiger Reserve is also being reported in past few weeks since the monsoon season began.