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Illegal fences to ward off elephants in Jhapa kill 40 people

Khabarhub

November 18, 2019

2 MIN READ

Illegal fences to ward off elephants in Jhapa kill 40 people

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JHAPA: Illegal electric fences and poorly-maintained sagging electric lines placed in some places of Jhapa district to ward off wild elephants have been a cause for concern among local authorities.

These fences continue to claim the lives of people and wildlife, including wild elephants.

An elderly was electrocuted on Sunday. Likewise, two youths lost their lives recently to electric shock from the poorly-managed electric fences installed to prevent wild elephants.

Around 40 people have been reported dead in the last one decade after receiving electric shocks from unmanaged lines, according to Divisional Forest Office, Jhapa’s Chief Bishnu Lal Ghimire.

“These ill-maintained lines coupled with low-slung electric cables have electrocuted 11 mammoths over this period,” Ghimire said.

He said that the locals of the district facing wild elephant menace have been illegally constructing electric fences for preventing wild elephants from coming into human settlements.

Ghimire said the locals need to obtain permission from Divisional Forest Office, District Police Office, District Administration, and the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) to operate such electric fences.

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