At midnight Sunday, an agitated tusker pulverized three hotels on the bank of the Reu River at Bankatta. [break]
“I have been running these hotels for some 15 years. Never had I encountered such havoc by wild animals,” said Tara Lamichane, owner of the hotels.
“Wild animals such as rhino, bear and boar used to appear frequently around the hotels, but we had no problem with them. This is the first time elephants have been so aggressive,” he added.
Meanwhile, in a surge of outrage, family members of a Bote couple of Gardi VDC-4 killed by the wild elephant Dhurbhe, have refused to accept the bodies and demanded immediate destruction of the killer tusker. They even padlocked the Chitwan National Park office on Monday.
“We won´t take the bodies until they hunt down the tusker that killed my parents,” said Pandab Bote. Pandab and other members of his family were supported in their demand by locals.
“It seems there won´t be tranquility in the area unless the elephant is killed,” said Sanishar Bote, Pandab´s brother.
Fear of elephant attack has weighed on the locals even after Chitwan National Park pledged to hunt down Dhurbhe, one of the killer tuskers on the loose.
“Looking at the series of killings in Amelia, Pandavnagar and Draupatinagar, it seems it is not just Gardi but all four VDCs of the Madi area that are in danger,” said Krishna Chaudhary, a teacher at National Primary School.
The threat of elephant attack is more acute in the four VDCs as these have no electricity.
“Every other night, people start screaming when they see an elephant in the village. Those living in thatch-roofed cottages move into others´ houses for shelter. Don´t know how long we have to live in such fear,” said Anita Bote of Pandavnagar.
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