Jumbo herd 'blocks' highway

Jalpaiguri: Traffic along the Chalsa-Lataguri stretch of NH31 came to a screeching halt on Monday morning as a herd of around 10 elephants, including calves, walked along the road from the Gorumara National Park.

Vehicles could not move for around one-and-a-half hours as the herd went on roaming on the highway, with the calves busy in playing with dust and the foliage.

Local people said the herd had come out of Gorumara around 5.30am. "This stretch of the highway is a known crossing zone of elephants and other wild animals. Usually, elephant herds do not halt on the highway but simply cross it in ones and twos. But on Monday morning, it was a different situation altogether as the herd stopped on the highway," said Dibyendu Deb, the president of the Lataguri Resort Owners' Welfare Association.

While vehicles stopped on both sides of the highway, many tourists who had come out of their hotels and resorts to visit the forest in SUVs - the first jungle safari is conducted in Gorumara at 5.30am - were elated to see the elephants on the road, particularly the calves.

"It was a road blockade, but by elephants," said Debajit Dutta, a resident of Sodepur in North 24-Paraganas. "We were in deep sleep when the staff at the resort informed us about the elephants. We took no time and rushed to the highway."


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