Residents of Thori Rural Municipality in Parsa district have been compelled to spend sleepless nights for the last couple of months due to frequent wild elephants menace.

People have been terrorised after the elephants strayed into their settlement and destroyed their properties. 

The wild tuskers have destroyed at least 17 houses in Thori-1 and 2 since mid-December and injured a local woman in an attack last week. Last week, 65-year-old Indra Kumari Pyakurel of Thori-2 sustained injuries on her head when an elephant of the Chitwan National Park (CNP) entered the settlement and destroyed her house. 

“I was sleeping in the upstairs of the house. When elephant started to damage the house, somehow I was able to escape and saved my life,” said Pyakurel. 

Prem Lama, a local man, said that the elephants have destroyed houses at Saraswotinagar and Rojinagar areas in Thori-1. “People also complained that the elephants ate food grains they stored in their houses,” said Lama. 

In the past, the CNP administration used to send a team from Kasara to control 

wild beasts after learning about the situtaion. But the park administration has not sent any team to control wild elephants this time round, locals said. 

Chairman of Thori Rural Municipality PL Shrestha said they had discussed about the problem with the CNP administration. 

“The CNP administration has planned to install 1.5-km long electric fence to keep elephants away from villager’s houses and properties. Besides, the Parsa National Park administration is going to put up 14-km long electric fence to prevent wild elephants from straying into human settlements,” said Shrestha, adding that his office would build electric fences in the remaining areas.