Ayodhyapuri, spanning wards 7, 8, and 9 of Madi Municipality in Chitwan district, is nestled between the Chitwan National Park (CNP) and Someshwar forest on three sides. Known for frequent human-animal conflict, this area has seen loss of lives and property every year.

Efforts of the authorities and local residents to control human-animal conflict by installing electric fencing have been largely effective. Of late, the solar-powered electric fences have deterred wild animals from entering into the settlements, thus protecting lives, property, and mainly crops. However, this solution entails a new risk: accidental electrocution for local residents.

“The electric fencing has been helpful in keeping wild animals like elephants, rhinos and deer away from the settlement and safeguarding crops. It also has reduced human-animal conflict significantly. However, it also brings a new threat—people also may get electrocuted and injured,” said Shivaji Gayak, chairman of Ayodhyapuri Buffer Zone Consumers’ Committee.

“We installed warning sirens to alert people after a 28-year-old man died of electric shock on the fence last year,” said Gayak. According to him, warning sirens have been installed in four different places a few months ago to warn people before releasing electricity in the fence. The sirens are sounded for about five to seven minutes before activating the electric fencing.

Rup Bahadur Shahi, aged 65, of Shivadwar village in Ayodhyapuri hurries to reach home before evening. An equipment that controls electricity flow in the electric fencing is in Shahi’s house. He is responsible for activating the fence before nightfall.

“But releasing electricity is not enough anymore. I have to sound the siren for five-seven minutes before activating the fence,” said Shahi, who is responsible for both sounding the siren and releasing current in the fence.

In view of unchecked human-animal conflict, the authorities started installing electric fencing some 15 years ago. Solar-powered electric fences were installed in various places at different times. According to Gayak, electric fencing now covers around 10 kilometres in Ayodhyapuri.

The wild animals run away as they get mild electric shocks upon touching the fence. There were no reported harms to the local people. But Bikalpa Subedi of ward 9 of Madi got injured after being caught in the electric fencing on October 12, 2023. He was rushed to the hospital, but the doctors could not save him.

Wild animals often enter settlements in Ayodhyapuri and destroy crops in the fields. Sometimes they also attack humans.

Shahi’s wife Jhanmaya still remembers an incident 25 years ago when she was attacked and seriously injured by a bear.

“I had been working in the paddy field near my house. The bear attacked and injured me seriously. I spent about four months in hospitals in Bharatpur and Kathmandu. I survived but I still have a problem with my right knee,” said Jhanmaya.

There are scores of people like Jhanmaya in Ayodhyapuri. As many as 28 people have been killed in wildlife attacks in the Ayodhyapuri area since 1998. Fifteen people were killed by tigers; nine by wild elephants; two by a rhinoceros; and one each by a bear and wild boar.

Ayodhyapuri, with about 2,500 households, has seen many deaths and countless injuries over the years. After the formation of the Ayodhyapuri Buffer Zone Consumer Committee in 1997, the process of documenting details of locals and animals started in 1998. Since then 46 people have been injured in wildlife attacks in Ayodhyapuri. According to the Ayodhyapuri Buffer Zone Consumers’ Committee, more than 30 people in Ayodhyapuri are living with disabilities as a result of such attacks.

“There is no alternative to electric fencing to protect the settlements and people from the wildlife. We have installed warning sirens and launched awareness campaigns to mitigate possible harms from the electric fence,” said Gayak.

Incidents of human-animal conflict are unchecked with an ever-increasing number of wild animals like tigers and rhinos.

According to data from the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, there were 121 tigers in Nepal in 2009. The number has almost tripled to 355, according to the tiger census 2022. Chitwan is home to 128 tigers, according to the 2022 census. The census of 2018 showed Chitwan National Park had 93 tigers.

Similarly, the rhino population has also increased in Chitwan National Park. According to the national rhino census conducted in 2021, Nepal is home to 752 one-horned rhinos, with Chitwan National Park alone hosting 694 of them. The country’s rhino population stood at 645 in 2015, with 605 rhinos in Chitwan alone.