Farmers of Kailali, Kanchanpur districts affected by stray cattle

By Abinash Chaudhary, Dhangadhi, Jan. 8: Farmers of Kailali and Kanchanpur districts are facing several troubles due to an increasing number of stray cattle in the region.

Farmers informed that the cattle entered their fields and destroyed the agricultural yield.

“It is difficult to save our agricultural products from stray cattle. They enter the fields at night and cause heavy loss to us,” said Khemraj Chaudhary, a farmer from Ward No. 7 of Kailari Rural Municipality in Kailali.

“Stray cattle spend time in Basanta Forest until evening. At night, they enter the agricultural fields. Many farmers are even bound to stay awake at night to protect their yields,” said Chaudhary.

Chaudhary stressed that the farmers were unhappy as they had to protect their products from domestic animals after struggling to protect them from wild animals.

“We were already suffering from the problem of wild elephants. Now, the problem of stray cattle has been added to it,” said Chaudhary.

Locals informed that local levels have spent millions to solve the problem of stray animals, but the problem has only intensified over the years.

“The animals spend time in nearby forest and market places throughout the day.  At night, they move towards agricultural fields. Due to it, our agricultural production has started getting insufficient to sustain us,” said Basanti Sarki, a farmer from Ward No. 11 of Punarbas Municipality in Kanchanpur. “Despite being a self-sufficient farmer before, I have been forced to buy vegetables now. 

We tried fencing, but it was also a waste of money and resources,” added Sarki.

The problem of stray cattle has increased as more people are leaving cows, after they stop giving milk, and oxen, after they can’t plough anymore, in the streets.

It has also led the stray cows to give birth to calves on the road. Thus, the population of stray animals is further increasing.

Some local levels have constructed Gaushala, also known as animal shelter, to house around 400 stray animals. However, many are still on the roads. The stray animals have also been causing road accidents. “We are constructing shelter houses for stray animals through the ward offices. 

We are also coordinating with higher authorities to provide necessary compensation to the affected farmers,” said Toya Prasad Sharma, Mayor of Punarbas Municipality.