MORANG: A 45-year-old women died in a wild elephant attack in Belbari, Morang last Sunday. Amina Rajbanshi was the fifth person to have died in wild elephant attacks in Morang in a year.
Rajbanshi of Bansbari, Belbari Municipality-8, was attacked by a wild elephant when she went to water her paddy field near her house, said District Police Office Spokesperson and Deputy Superintendent of Police Kopila Chundal. On Thursday morning of the same week, Amit Limbu, 41, of Bhaunne, Belbari-10, was seriously injured in a wild elephant attack and is undergoing treatment at Nobel Medical College, Biratnagar.
In the fiscal year 2081/82, three women and two men died in wild elephant attacks in the district, according to the Division Forest Office. Three people died in Sundarharaicha Municipality, one each in Belbari Municipality and Letang Municipality, said Officer Bimal KC.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Chundal said that the incidents of attacks have increased as wild elephants have started entering settlements in search of food and safety due to increasing deforestation and incident of forest fire.
According to the statistics of the Division Forest Office, 17 people have died in elephant attacks since 2068 BS. The office stated that nine elephants died during that period. Of these, four died of natural causes, two were killed by poachers, one was shot dead and one from electrocution.
Meanwhile, the Division Forest Office has requested everyone to take necessary precautions in the areas surrounding the forest, and not to leave their homes at night except for essential work, and to keep lights on outside their homes.
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