**Dhenkanal:** In an unfortunate incident, carcasses of at least seven elephants were found lying near Kamalanga village in Sadar forest range today morning.
According to sources, a herd of elephants had wandered close to human habitation in search of food last night when the incident took place. The pachyderms came in contact with low-hanging live 11KV wires that were laid by the railway department for track construction work.
Though the height of the wire should be at 17-feet, it was laid at a height of only 8-feet, said sources.
The locals have alleged that they had spotted some jumbos in the outskirts of the village a few days back and had informed the forest officials about it. But, the administration had taken no step to address the situation.
Thus, tension has gripped the area as locals held the forest departments responsible for the incident. Meanwhile, the delay in officials reaching the spot has also enraged the villagers.
It may be noted that elephants are electrocuted often in Odisha as they come into human habitations in search of food. In forest-fringe areas, live electric wires remain sagging at many places. The pachyderms come in contact with these low-hanging live wires and die. Unavailability of food and water in forests force the jumbos to come to villages.