KANCHANPUR: In a terrifying midnight incident on July 18, an elephant attack left a family homeless and without food in Domilla, Krishnapur Municipality-1 in Kanchanpur.
It was around 1:00 AM when Mansara Devi Saud was asleep with her son in the inner room of their thatched house. Suddenly, the wall shook violently. “At first, I thought it was an earthquake,” she recalled.
“But when I stepped outside, I saw a massive shadow—it was an elephant. I didn’t have time to think. I grabbed my son and ran to a neighbor’s house. We were lucky to survive. The elephant had broken the wall where we were sleeping. I just prayed we would be saved.”
According to Saud, the elephant herd demolished parts of the house and consumed all the food stored inside. What little was left was trampled and rendered inedible. “That night is something I will never forget,” she said.
Neighbor Devaki Bhatta shared her concern, noting, “What’s strange is that the elephants only targeted Mansara’s house. None of the surrounding homes were touched. Even last year, elephants destroyed her rice field, but left others untouched.”
Locals have since helped plaster the walls of Mansara’s damaged home, but fear remains high. “Just a few days ago, elephants destroyed Mani Saud’s house too,” said another resident. “It feels like elephants have become permanent visitors to our settlement. They can come anytime, and it’s terrifying to sleep at night.”
“There are no streetlights or preventive measures,” said Gauri Saud. “If there were lights, we’d at least see the elephants coming. But in the dark, you don’t know they’re there until your house starts collapsing.”
The area, which borders the Aishwarya Community Forest, has become a regular route for wild elephants. Ishwar Budha, chairman of the community forest, said, “The elephants even broke the main drinking water pipeline. As a result, 40 families have been left without access to clean water. It’s become a humanitarian crisis.”
Locals are now calling for urgent measures—such as mesh wire fencing, concrete barriers, or early-warning systems—to prevent future incidents. In the meantime, many residents spend their nights burning fires in a desperate effort to keep the elephants away.
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