JHAPA: Fear has gripped residents of Bahundangi and surrounding border areas in Mechinagar Municipality, Jhapa, after herds of elephants entering from India began raiding crops at night.
For the past week, a group of around 30 to 40 elephants entering wards 1, 4 and 5 of Mechinagar Municipality from nearby Indian forests has been destroying ripe crops, including maize and betel nuts, causing widespread damage to farmers.
Ward Chairperson of Mechinagar-4 Arjun Karki said a herd of nearly 100 elephants originating from Assam, India, has been staying in the forest along the border during the day, while smaller groups break away at night to enter Nepal and damage crops.
Following growing incidents, an all-party meeting has decided to mobilize security personnel, forest guards and rapid response teams to control elephant movement at entry points and protect settlements.
The meeting also decided to coordinate with Indian forest authorities to prevent elephants from crossing the border, restrict public movement near entry points after 6 pm, install temporary fencing in affected areas, deploy tractors to chase elephants away, and use public announcements to discourage nighttime movement.
Chairperson of the Human-Elephant Conflict Management and Environment Conservation Forum Hari Prasad Upreti said work is underway to maintain an 18-kilometre solar fence installed across three border wards of Bahundangi to block elephant entry.
He added that most batteries in the decade-old electric fence need replacement, and the upgrade will be carried out with support from the National Nature Conservation Fund, the Division Forest Office and Mechinagar Municipality, with an estimated budget of Rs 3 million.
Former forum chair Niraj Ghimire said recurring elephant intrusions during crop seasons have been causing repeated loss of life and property, urging high-level diplomatic coordination with Indian authorities to control the movement of elephant herds.
Locals said the elephants have destroyed ripening maize crops and damaged betel nut trees by breaking and uprooting them. Resident Gopi Rijal said three people have been injured in elephant attacks in recent months and around 15 houses have been damaged.
He also stressed the need to replace stolen or damaged batteries in the solar fence system along the border to make it effective again.
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