Bhubaneswar: A herd of 17 elephants blocked the vehicular traffic on a road in Odisha’s Keonjhar district for over two hours today.

The elephant herd blocked the Joda-Jurudi-Bamebari road near Gurubeda Square in Keonjhar in the afternoon, causing disruption in the vehicular traffic.

Several vehicles were stranded on either sides of the road. On being informed, the Forest department officials reached the spot and chased away the jumbos.

“The vehicular traffic was disrupted for over two hours. The traffic was restored only after the Forest department officials reached the spot and chased away the elephants,” said a local.

The pachyderms might have come from the Champua Forest Range in Keonjhar, said an official of the Forest department.