Wild elephant menace in Kanchanpur village, wheat crops on 31 bigha land destroyed

Kanchanpur / Feb 23: Wild elephants straying from the Shuklaphanta National Park are wrecking havoc in the adjacent villages, said the locals.

Recently on Thursday night, a herd of the tuskers entered the settlement of Pipaladi in Shuklaphanta Municipality-3, and destroyed houses of the locals and ripen wheat crops on around 31 bighas of farmland, said they said. The loss estimation is around Rs 1.5 million.

A week ago, the pachyderms demolished at least 21 human huts set up in the Park area, said a local Chuluwa Chaudhary, adding that the locals in some cases are forced to spend sleepless nights due to fear of elephant attacks.

In a bid to ward off the wild animals, the locals have come up with traditional means like whistle-blowing but with little effects.

When asked, Narendra Prasad Chaudhary, mayor of the municipality, said fencing the village with electric barbed wires has started to prevent wild elephants from entering the settlements. RSS