On February 25, one person died due to an attack by a wild elephant in Letang Municipality-9 Jante. Deputy Superintendent of Police Ved Prakash Joshi informed that 43-year-old Man Bahadur Iwahang Limbu died on the spot when an elephant attacked him in the Kopila community forest near his house.
Local Lakshmi Bogti, who went to collect firewood in the Lakshmi community forest area located in Belbari-11, was injured by an elephant attack on February 24. Sujay Gautam, president of Lakshmi Community Forest Consumer Committee, said that Bogti, who managed to escape and save her life, has a broken arm and body injuries.
According to the data of Morang Division Forest Office, 16 people have died from elephant attacks since 2068. Ghanshyam Yadav, Forest Officer of the office informed that nine elephants died during this period. Out of which four elephants died due to natural causes, two due to smuggling and poaching, one due to shooting, one due to neglect and one due to electrocution.
According to Sujay Gautam, Chairman of Lakshmi Community Forest Consumer Committee, there has been an increase in the number of wild elephants in the east-west highway area of Morang since last year. "Every night, wild elephants enter the village and startle the farmers by eating up the crops", says Hariprasad Mishra of Belbari-4 Kakum.
Mishra said that the trunks of elephants, which stay in the forest during the day, enter the settlements in search of food at dusk. He said that common people have to stay awake all night for fear of elephants destroying houses, eating crops and attacking them.
According to the forest development and management program of the province, after wild elephants started entering human settlements, ponds have been dug in the forest area as part of 'one community forest, one conservation pond', according to the division forest office. To reduce the conflict between humans and wild animals in the forest area According to the Division Forest Office, plants of edible fruit species have been planted in an area of about 157.8 hectares. According to the office, plants such as bell, amla, katahar, badhar, kimbu, harrowbarro, sarifa, amba have been planted in the fruit-bearing species.
