KATHMANDU, Oct 18: A herd of wild elephants has damaged the paddy crop of farmers in Shuklaphanta Municipality-2 last night.
The elephants numbering around nine entered the human settlement from the Chure area. “We had harvested the paddy planted in ten acres of land and brought it home for threshing,” said a local farmer Raj Kumar Chaudhary. “The herd of elephants has eaten all the paddy. We are at a great loss now.”
Wild elephants destroy sugarcane worth 800,000
Chaudhary said the paddy produced in the field was enough for him to feed the whole family throughout the year. As the elephants ate up everything, he will now have to buy paddy to support their families. The elephants have damaged about five and a half bighas of land of five families.
According to Ward Chairman Narendra Prasad Chaudhary, the elephants damaged the paddy crop of Hira Singh Ghatal, Dan Bahadur Ayer and Kaushila Joshi and ravaged the banana orchard of Manoj Bisht. They also damaged the compound of a local Siddhabhim Ardash Basic School and vegetables planted by farmers in Ward No. 3.
"Farmers have reported that the elephants have caused damage to the vegetable crop as well," he said. "We will know the extent of the damage caused only after monitoring damages.” The elephants have headed toward Shuklaphanta National Park after damaging the paddy crops of the farmers.
