Wild elephants stealing sleep of Damak locals

By Bishnu Prasad Pokharel,Damak, Nov. 19: The wild elephant menace in Ward No. 2 and 3 of Damak Municipality of Jhapa district has demanded an urgent need for a concrete plan to manage the situation. 

Locals have reported that they are unable to sleep at night and are afraid to step outside their homes owing to fear of wild elephants.

Over the past decade, more than half a dozen people have lost their lives in elephant-related incidents in the areas.

 Navin Baral, Chairman of Ward No. 3, said that elephants from the nearby Hamsedumse Community Forest, intrude into villages, putting the lives of locals at risk. Despite the ongoing threat, no concrete plan had been implemented to stop the elephants from intruding into the villages, leaving locals to rely on traditional methods such as using torches and firebrands to drive them away.

Baral said that these traditional practices were still in use and confrontations with elephants often lead to fatalities. Elephants destroy crops, further exacerbating the situation.

Bimal Khatri, Managing Director of Next Era Energy, which oversees waste management in Damak, said that elephants frequently damaged their waste processing facility. He said that workers and staff lived in constant fear, unable to sleep at night. 

Prajapati Sapkota, Chairman of Ward No.2, said that although streetlights were installed along the main roads and jungle areas, these measures had not stopped the elephants from entering the settlements. He expressed concern over the rising number of fatalities and damages caused by elephant menace.

On Sunday morning, an elephant attack claimed the life of Min Bahadur Bhandari, 46, a resident of Deepjyoti Chowk in Ward No. 3. According to the Damak Area Police Office, Bhandari had gone to help his neighbour scare off an elephant but he was fatally attacked by it. 

Damak Municipality Mayor Ram Kumar Thapa said that discussions would be held to formulate a concrete plan to address the elephant problem. He assured that the issue would be brought to the attention of provincial and federal governments to take necessary actions. He also acknowledged the high risks faced by settlements bordering the forest.

Shankar Luitel, who is studying elephant behaviours, said that while elephants used to enter Nepal from India and return after some time, they now tend to stay longer, leading to increased damages in the Jhapa district. He said that elephants generally do not attack humans unless provoked and urged people to avoid disturbing or provoking them.