Residents of Hirapur settlement at Lalbandi Municipality-11 in Sarlahi district have been living in constant fear for the last four days due to a menace of wild elephants in the area.
Residents of Hirapur settlement at Lalbandi Municipality-11 in Sarlahi district have been living in constant fear for the last four days due to a menace of wild elephants in the area.
A herd of wild tuskers has entered the settlement every night since Sunday and destroyed around a dozen properties and damaged crops.
According to the villagers, the elephants stay in a nearby forest during day and wreak havoc at the village at night.
“We have not slept well for the past four days in fear of the elephant attack,” said Maya Gole, a resident of Hirapur.
Villagers make different groups and attempt to chase the tuskers away by beating kitchen utensils, building fires and blowing firecrackers.
Ward chairman Dipak Lama has demanded the authorities concerned to drive away the elephants and provide security to the villagers. “The locals are in abject terror. The authorities should take initiatives to chase away the tuskers from human settlements,” said Lama.
He has also demanded the authorities to provide relief to those families rendered homeless by the tusker attack.
Madhav Prasad Dev, chief at the division office, said efforts were on to provide relief to the affected families based on the recommendations of police, ward office and forest consumers’ group.
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