Elephant ‘Omkar’ Roams Along Maharashtra-Goa Border; Forest Departments On Alert

Mumbai: An elephant named ‘Omkar’, which has been causing concern in Dodamarg taluka of Sindhudurg district for the past few days, has now crossed the Maharashtra-Goa border and entered Goa. On Saturday night, Omkar crossed the Kadashi river from Dodamarg taluka via the Netarde area of Sawantwadi taluka and entered Mopa village in Goa. The elephant reached the forest near Manohar International Airport in Mopa.

According to the forest department, after seeing the bright electric lights and the crowd near the airport, Omkar moved back towards Mopa village. Currently, the elephant is roaming through Mopa, Kadashi, and Chandel areas, taking shelter in cashew orchards belonging to local farmers, as reported by Loksatta. The Goa forest department team is closely monitoring its movements.

Earlier on Saturday, the elephant was spotted near Dhangarwadi and Kholbagwadi close to Netarde village. In the afternoon, it paused near a water body before moving on. Late at night, it crossed into Goa from Maharashtra. Locals say that because Omkar is roaming near the Maharashtra-Goa border, it may return to Maharashtra at any time.

Chaos Erupts in Rishikesh as Wild Elephant Enters Residential Area

In a separate incident, panic spread across a residential society in Rishikesh after a wild elephant wandered into the area. The incident, which was captured on CCTV, surfaced on social media on Wednesday and quickly went viral.

The footage shows residents running through a narrow lane as the elephant chased them. In a desperate attempt to save their lives, some locals hid behind a parked car. Fortunately, the elephant moved ahead without causing harm to anyone.

This is not the first such encounter in the region. Back in July, a wild elephant created chaos during a community meal near the Mani Mai Temple on Dehradun Road, under the Lacchiwala Forest Range. As reported by Jagran Hindi, a herd of elephants had strayed near the venue where the event was taking place, causing fear among those gathered. Forest officials continue to monitor the situation closely as human-wildlife conflict in the region remains a concern.