A group of eight wild elephants wandering off from the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve (KTWR) have been giving a headache to the people of Saptri for over a week now. [break]
“The elephants have been destroying the houses. Over 50 houses have been destroyed so far,” said Yogendra Yadav, a member of the KTWR buffer zone management committee.
“Those living in areas between Bhardaha to Fattepur in Saptari have been forced to keep vigil at night due to the fear of wild elephants,” Yadav added.
The tusker terror at the time of paddy harvest has been a perennial problem for the people in Udyapur, Sunsari and Saptari districts.
Rajendra Dhungana, KTWR warden, informed that the wild elephants moving in the herd have been unleashing terror among the people of the districts adjoining the KTWR.
“The wild elephants stay inside the forest in the KTWR in the daytime and enter human settlements after nightfall in the search of food,” said Dhungana.
He also underscored the need to introduce a long-term program to check the wild elephants.
“Even the electric fencing cannot stop these tuskers from entering human settlements as they always find a way to break the barrier,” Dhungana added.
Though the life of the people living in the buffer zone area is at risk, the government provides compensation only in the case of human casualty, and not for the destruction of crops, houses and other properties.
Last year, following a death of a woman in a tusker attack in Sunsari, the government had allocated Rs 2.5 million to implement measures to check the elephants wandering off to human settlements, but no program has been implemented so far.
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