GAIGHAT, JAN 21 - It is January, a time when wild elephants from Indian jungles enter some Terai and inner Terai districts and unleash terror on the people there. Like in the previous years, the wild tuskers have now been causing huge losses to human lives, property apart from terrorising hapless inhabitants.
The recent rampage of the wild pachyderms in Udaipur is a case in point.. A herd of five wild elephants have been creating panic among the people of Udaipur district, including the residents in Gaighat, the district headquarters, for the last one month. The herd has destroyed over five dozen thatched houses, causing loss of around four million rupees and leaving dozens of people sans food and shelter in the past one month, according to official sources.
Yesterday night only, the elephants destroyed 10 houses in wards 6, 7, 8 and 9 of Triuga municipality including those of Bali Ram Chaudhari, Chandraman Shrestha, Baiba Niraula, Makkar Bahadur Khatri, Moktan Tamang, Shankar Bhandari, Nir Bahadur Shrestha and Lal Bahadur Khatri in separate wards.
In fact, these destructions have now become annual events for the people not only of Udaipur but also for many people living in 62 Village Development Committees in Jhapa, Morang, Sunsari, Saptari, Udaipur, Parsa, Bardiya, Rautahat and Kailali districts in Nepal. Nearly 200 wild elephants from Indian jungles bordering southern plains of Nepal enter the country during harvest time, triggering human and property losses amounting to millions of rupees annually.
This conflict between human and elephants has already claimed 66 lives and 22 elephants since 1986, according to figures provided by concerned officials.
Despite the intensity of the problem, the government is still unaware of it. There is no national policy to address the problem and compensate the victims of the wild elephants.
Places including Khaijanpur, Sanuwa, Motigada, Chanp, Bahaga and Shreepur are the ones affected most by the elephants besides Triyuga in Udaipur. People in these areas have no option but to stay awake whole nights. They beat drums and light flames in a bid to drive away the elephants, according to Tilak Katuwal, a teacher of Bhutke area.
As per the existing policy, government is bound to compensate any loss caused by wild animals but only inside the buffer zone areas in national parks. The Udaipur district administration has done little to reduce the pain of the people.
Officials from District Administration Office (DAO) lament that they have no separate funds to compensate such victims but added that they have already distributed Rs 50,000 as relief aid from the local fund.
On the other hand, the victims affected by the wild elephants complain that they are unable to get relief in any form despite frequenting various government bodies such as the DAO, the District Development Committee (DDC) and the municipality.Posted on: 2004-01-22 04:04

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