A herd of wild elephants entered a human settlement in Haripur-3, Sunsari, on Friday night, destroying houses and crops.

Four villagers were injured following the intrusion of the animals on the settlement. The elephants destroyed 10 houses and ate up food grains stored inside. The affected area is the settlement of about 100 households displaced by Koshi floods. 

“We narrowly escaped the attack of wild elephants on Friday night,” said Haribamsha Mukhiya, who lost his mother last year in a tusker attack. Molbi Devi Mukhiya was killed when the pachyderms wrought havoc in the settlement.

Haribamsha said the government had assured of Rs 600,000 in compensation to the victim’s family but had provided only Rs 325,000.

The residents, mostly Mukhiyas who are fishermen, said the villagers were terrorised as the elephants had been frequenting the area. They complained that the government had not taken initiatives to control the animals from entering the area.