Bhubaneswar, Aug. 10 -- A herd of 26 elephants has been spotted around Mangalpur village under Patana Range in Odisha's Keonjhar district for the past five days.

According to reports, the elephants allegedly damaged houses and destroyed crops in the village.

Due to the ongoing situation, residents are being forced to remain awake at night to drive the animals away. Villagers are keeping a close watch on the movement of the elephants to protect their homes and crops.

A farmer said, "The elephants have destroyed all the vegetables and other crops. The herd has split into two groups. There are 16 elephants in one group and six in the other. We are suffering huge losses because of this."

Another farmer said that the elephants destroyed pu...