Bhubaneswar, Dec. 29 -- The two adult tusker elephants that had strayed into the Shikharchandi hill range in Bhubaneswar returned to the Bharatpur forest early Monday after a coordinated night-long operation by the Forest Department, allowing the popular hilltop shrine and picnic area to reopen.

As per reports, the elephants had remained in the Shikharchandi hills for around six days after entering the area from the Chandaka forest division, prompting authorities to close the site to tourists for two consecutive days as a precautionary measure.

Forest officials confirmed that the tuskers were successfully guided back to the Bharatpur forest by around 5 am following a marathon operation that lasted nearly 12 hours.

According to sources,...