GUJARA: The herds of wild elephants have terrorized locals in different parts of the district after they began stalking in search of food. The people from Gujara, Brindaban, and Chandrapur municipalities are panicked with marauding herds of pachyderms. Chocha and Maira areas of Gujara municipality-2 witnessed damages in harvest time paddy last Sunday.
According to National News Agency Nepal, Ward chair Ashok Kumar Chaudhari informed that the elephants entered their homestead and damaged paddy crops cultivated in some 5 bighas of land. The harvest time paddy perished after the elephants ate up and trampled the paddy belonging to locals Laxmi Chaudhari, Ram Bishwas Chaudhari, Jagdish Majhi, and Khaheru Saha, among others.
Similarly, Bantol village of Chandrapur municipality-2 suffered damages of paddy and sugarcane, according to a local Baburam Ghising. The herds of elephants also destroyed the banana and plantain cultivated at Gaindatar of Chandrapur-2. Dozens of elephants entered the homestead and orchard,
perishing the fruit, said Gopal Phunyal, adding that the plantain grown in more than one bigha of land was perished by the pachyderms.
Moreover, the people from Baleri village of Brindawan municipality-1 are frightened by the sight of vermin. Once it is nightfall, wild animals begin stalking villages and homesteads. A local, Surendra Patel, informed that dozens of farmers were spending sleepless nights being vigilant against elephants. Many people lost their agricultural products due to prowling elephants.
Not only crops but also human casualties are reported sometimes in the animal attacks. Just a week back, Patali Maya Tamang, 70, from Bijayapur-11 was killed in an elephant attack, according to the Division Forest Office in the district. The elderly’s husband had, however, escaped the tragedy.