Panaji: Omkar, the sub-adult elephant that has repeatedly strayed into Goa’s border villages in Pernem since Sep last year, has once again been spotted near the border.Goa forest officials said Omkar was seen in Maharashtra’s Wafoli village, approximately 5-6km from the border. They said that the elephant has remained in the village for nearly a week and has not ventured into the Goa territory so far.Forest officials said they are maintaining close coordination with their counterparts in Maharashtra while discreetly monitoring the animal’s movements to avoid disturbing it.“If we get activated visibly, the other side also becomes equally vigilant regarding the elephant’s activity. So we are monitoring the movement through coordination. Whenever it comes very close to our border, and there is a possibility of it entering our area, then we will activate our team on the ground,” the official told TOI.Authorities noted that Omkar currently appears to be confined to a single village area on the Maharashtra side and has not approached within a 2km boundary of Goa.“With rains beginning in the border area, animals should not be moving in search of food now. It may simply have become a regular movement path or habit for the elephant,” the official said.TOI reported in Sep last year that the elephant spent nearly a month in the Pernem villages of Tamboxem, Ugvem and Mopa, where it raided plantations and damaged crops, triggering concern among residents. The elephant later returned to Maharashtra and reunited with its herd in Jan this year. However, Omkar was spotted again near the Goa border in the last week of March.
