Elephants are a common sight in the city. People even offer fruits and other eatables to the animal as a mark of devotion for Lord Ganesha. But how safe is it?

19^th June an elephant went berserk on Sukhadia circle. 2 Mahavats tried their best to control the gigantic creature but it went on running and finally stopped outside Lok Kala Mandal. The berserk animal was completely out of control at Sukhadia Circle which happens to be one of the most crowded areas of the city. The mahavats didn’t have any other means of controlling the animal other than the regular stick that they carry. It was only a matter of chance that despite being a busy road, no vehicle or humans came in the way of the elephant else the situation would have been disastrous. The entire route that the elephant took usually stays busy due to tourists apart from local crowd.

Prohibiting the animal from entering the city is now being considered for which Wild Animal and Nature Rescue Society has approached Collector Vishnu Charan Mallik.

The point is that such creatures no matter what importance they hold in peoples’ hearts, should not be allowed in the city because when they go out of control for reasons of hunger, loud honking horns, glare from vehicle glass and even the smoke emitted by vehicles running on diesel or kerosene, controlling them can be a real tough task failing which lives can be in danger. One can very well imagine the condition of a vehicle when pushed by an annoyed elephant. Humans under elephant’s foot might breathe their last. Such a huge animal can cause destruction to an unimaginable extent, the thought of which causes shivers. Devotion cannot overrule human life, so the entry of this adorable yet wild creature in the city should be stopped with immediate effect.