Wild elephant attack destroys house, crops in Kanchanpur

Kanchanpur: A wild elephant damaged the house of local resident Ganesh Prasad Bhat in Putalibazaar Tole, Domilla, Krishnapur Municipality-1, on Tuesday night.

According to Bhat, a herd of elephants entered the settlement and destroyed his house, forcing him to flee. The elephants consumed food grains stored inside, including flour, rice, and wheat, leaving the family in distress.

Damodar Joshi, Secretary of the Aishwarya Community Forest Office, said wild elephants have been entering the settlement since Bhadra 4. “So far, elephants have damaged rice and maize crops planted on 10 bighas of land belonging to 27 families,” he informed.

The community forest has also suffered massive losses. Elephants have destroyed amriso crops planted on 35 hectares and Napier grass on 15 hectares of land. “We used to prepare and sell brooms from the amriso produced here. The annual income ranged from Rs 300,000 to Rs 500,000, but the elephants have wiped out the entire farm,” Joshi said, adding that the community forest has now lost its main source of income.

Joshi further said that elephants have broken sections of the mesh wire fence installed to prevent wild animals from entering the settlement.

Local resident Madan Nepali said elephants often enter the settlement while feeding on amriso in the community forest. “We have been demanding elephant control, but the concerned authorities have not shown any interest so far,” he said, urging immediate intervention to control the problem.