Agitated locals vandalize checkpost of Parsa National Park after elephant attacks elderly woman

Published On: February 20, 2023 07:15 PM NPT By: Ganesh Darpan Adhikari

MAKWANPUR, Feb 20: After an elderly woman was injured by a wild elephant, the agitated locals vandalized the Lamitar check post in Manahari Rural Municipality-3 within the Parsa National Park.

It has been learnt that the angry locals vandalized the check post where the park officials and the Nepalese Army personnel were staying.

In the incident, the office and a vehicle used by the army have been damaged. The locals also set fire near the post. They vented their ire saying that the park authorities did not intervene in preventing the elephant attack that resulted in the loss of property. The angry locals chanted slogans saying that the park officials gave more importance to animals than people.

Wild elephants had created terror in the Handikhola area of Makwanpur's Manahari Rural Municipality from Sunday evening. An elderly woman was injured on Monday morning due to an attack by an elephant that appeared in the area on Sunday evening.

Sixty-four-year-old Radha Adhikari of Manahari Rural Municipality-4, who was working in a vegetable garden, was attacked by an elephant. The injured person is being treated at Chure Hill Hospital, Hetauda.

Last year, an old woman was killed in an elephant attack in this area. Sita Ram Aryal, chairman of Parsa National Park Buffer Zone Management Committee, informed Republica that three elephants have been roaming around the Handikhola area since a few days and they are harming the locals.

“The elephants are destroying the locals’ houses and crops. The army has been deployed to control the elephants,” he said, “They are causing damage from Pratappur to Handikhola in Manahari.”

He has also requested the local residents not to go out of their houses in the evening and morning.

Meanwhile, Ranjan Kalakheti, chairman of Manahari Rural Municipality, said that they are coordinating with Parsa National Park for elephant control.

“Last time too, we chased elephants using JCB excavators,” said Kalakheti, “The Rural Municipality is playing a role in preventing further loss of wealth.”