KATHMANDU: The investigation committee formed to probe the death of a wild elephant, Makuna (a name given to elephants without tusks), in the buffer zone of Chitwan National Park has formally begun its work.
According to Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Forests and committee coordinator, Dr Buddhisagar Poudel, the investigation has commenced with the preparation of the committee’s internal working procedures.
He stated that although the committee was formed on Friday, work officially began on Sunday due to a holiday in between. The team will conduct an on-site study today.
The investigation committee will stay in Chitwan for two days to conduct field studies and hold discussions with Chitwan National Park officials, sector office representatives, security agencies, buffer zone community forest officials, local municipalities, and the district administration.
The committee will also engage with hotel and elephant entrepreneurs, as there have been complaints that wild elephants are entering human settlements due to the presence of captive elephants kept by hotel owners.
Makuna was shot dead by the Nepali Army on February 5 while deployed to protect Chitwan National Park. Following the incident, the Ministry of Forests formed an investigation committee on February 7, tasking it with identifying the cause and details of the incident within seven days.
Joint Secretary Poudel leads the committee and includes Purushottam Sharma, Senior Monitoring and Evaluation Officer of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Lieutenant General Gajendra Rawal, Chief of the Directorate of National Parks and Wildlife Reserves, Savnam Pathak, Forest Officer of the Department of Forests and Soil Conservation, and Dr Dinesh Shah, Veterinarian at the Chitwan National Park Office.
The investigation is expected to shed light on the circumstances leading to Makuna’s death and propose measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
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