Lights installed to chase elephants away

By Bishnu Prasad Pokharel,Damak, Jan. 23: The wards affected the most by wild elephants in Kamal Rural Municipality in Jhapa have begun installing lights on electric poles after the animals continued going berserk.

To mitigate the physical and human damages caused by elephants, a patrolling system, involving the formation of groups to deter elephants, has been implemented.

Hukum Singh Rai, Chairman of the rural municipality, said that lights have been installed on electric poles at the main entry points of the elephants. 

After the elephants started destroying houses, consuming and damaging the stored paddy, and crushing crops in the fields, the affected individuals arrived at the rural municipality seeking assistance.

Elephants have been entering Ward Nos. 4 and 5, causing damage consistently. Rai said that the budget for the northern area of Guheshwari Tole in Ward No. 5 has been promptly allocated, and lights have been installed overnight. He said that without proper lighting, it would be challenging to guide the elephants to a secure location.

Similarly, after elephants caused distress to the locals by entering the vicinity around Jyoti Tole and Rijal's petrol pump in Ward No. 4 throughout the night, the municipality provided supplies such as sirens and flashlights. 

Rai said that he has been urging the initiation of necessary measures by convening a coordination meeting with relevant agencies to supply essential materials to those patrolling to frighten elephants.

In three weeks, elephants have caused damage to over a dozen houses in Kamal Rural Municipality.

Meanwhile, an elephant entered the premises of the Area Police of Damak on Monday morning. 

A wild elephant that entered Damak market areas at 4:00 am on Monday wreaked havoc. When locals saw a mature wild elephant roaming in the main market area of Damak, they tried to chase it away. One local, Dinesh Adhikari, was injured in course of chasing the animal, and he was rushed to Nims Hospital.

When the people started chasing from all directions, the elephant entered the premises of the Area Police Office located in the heart of Damak. 

According to chief of Damak Police Manoj Kumar Lama, the elephant gave a dash on its compound wall and entered the police office.

“But it caused no damage to the police office, and when the crowd got dispersed and the noise stopped, the elephant left the police office premises,” Lama said. 

Likewise, a herd of elephants caused damage to three houses in Kanepokhari, Morang, on Sunday night.

According to our Urlabari correspondent, the elephants partly destroyed the houses of Bishnu Kumari Jogi and Aita Bahadur Limbu of Shanti Chowk, in Kanepokhari-7.  Similarly, in Chisangbasti of Ward No. 5 in Kanepokhari, the elephant pulled down a wall of an RCC house of Lati Urab, according to Assistant Sub-Inspector Gunaraj Pokharel. 

Vice-chair of Kanepokhari Rural Municipality Rajamti Ingnam said that locals and police prevented the elephants from entering the human settlement by staying awake throughout the night.