A wild elephant in Baikunthapur forest strayed near New Jalpaiguri station on the southern outskirts of Siliguri on Saturday morning, prompting foresters and police to make elaborate arrangements for hours to send it back to the jungle.

The elephant’s movement made the administration clamp prohibitory orders in certain areas to prevent crowding as foresters worked for 12 hours to steer it to the forest for hours. In the evening, the elephant was steered back to the forest.

The drama unfolded at around 6am, when the elephant came out of Baikunthapur forest and walked
on the Canal Road near Fulbari on the southern end of the city.

“The elephant moved into Sipahipara, Bhalobasa More and reached Bhola More around 6.30am. More and more people gathered to catch a glimpse of it. The elephant then entered the vacant premises of the Railway Protection Force camp near New Jalpaiguri station at around 7am,” said a local resident.

The area is adjacent to Dabgram forest range of Baikunthapur forest division.

“This is the first time that an elephant didn’t go to villages but visited different localities not even close to the forest,” the resident added.

Foresters on getting information rushed to the spot, around 5km from the forest.

“People were gathering near the vacant area of the RPF camp. To ensure no mishap, we decided to allow the elephant to stay there for some time, instead of driving it toward the forest,” said a forest official.

Forest staff and officers from different ranges of Baikunthapur division and Mahananda, Kurseong and Jalpaiguri forest divisions, reached there. They cordoned the area. BY afternoon, Jalpaiguri district adminstration clamped prohibitory orders to restrain crowds.

“Around 4.30pm, we started making public announcements asking people to vacate the area. Also, more employees and officers from Sukna wildlife squad, Kurseong forest division and Jalpaiguri reached the spot with an Airawat (the specialised
vehicle used to check elephant depredation),” the forester added.

As the evening rolled in, forest officials tried to steer the animal towards the forest. Around 7.15pm, the animal finally came out of the area, almost 12 hours after entering there.

Foresters guided it through the road adjacent to the tea park, the Sahudangi railway crossing and Paghalupara, towards the Baikunthapur forest.

“At around 8.15pm, it entered the forest, much to our relief. So far, we have not received any information of any damage caused by the elephant,” said a source in the forest department.