JHAPA, June 10 : Locals of Bahundangi VDC in Jhapa district, who have remained hapless victims of wild elephant attacks for the last several decades, have threatened to launch strong protests if the government failed to address their demands within the next three days.
Hundreds of locals arrived at Chandragadhi, the district headquarters, on Monday and submitted a six-point memorandum to Chief District Officer (CDO) Ek Mani Nepal. [break]
In the memorandum, the locals have asked the government to take immediate steps to stop wild elephants from India from entering Nepal. The memorandum also states that the government should provide compensation to the families of those killed in elephant attacks and pay for the medical treatment of those injured in such attacks.
The locals have demanded that the family of the deceased should be provided Rs 1 million in compensation each.
Bahundangi, Santinagar, Budhabare, Dhaijan and Khudunabari VDCs of the district are major elephant-affected areas.
After handing over the memorandum, the locals had staged protest by shouting anti-government slogans. Prior to this, locals had been organizing phase-wise protests in the district.
In Bahundangi alone 19 people have died in elephant attacks so far while there are no records of other losses.
Hari Prasad Upreti, coordinator of a struggling committee formed by the locals to pile pressure on the government said, “We have given three-day ultimatum to the chief district officer. If the authorities fails to take any action, we will resort to stern protests.” Under the protest program, the committee has decided to obstruct vehicular movement along the East-West Highway and picket the Mechi Customs Office, among other things.
´Unlike in the past, the locals will not remain silent this time as they have suffered a lot. The government should address the demand at any cost,´ Upreti said. He alleged that the authorities are more concerned about protecting elephants than about the safety of people despite elephant attacks since decades back.
Meanwhile, CDO Nepal assured that he will forward their demands to the government. He further said that he ordered police in the elephant-affected areas to use gunfires to drive the elephants away from human settlements. However, the locals have been using firecrackers to drive away the tuskers.
Elephants that have entered the village from Indian forests also destroy crops planted every year.
Related story
Elephant menace continues in Jhapa
