A herd of wild elephants has repeatedly entered settlements in Udayapur district over the past two weeks, damaging homes, food stocks and farmland and forcing residents to live in constant fear.

According to Police Inspector Prabhab Limbu, chief of the Beltar Area Police Office, the elephants have entered wards 4 and 7 of Chaudandigadhi Municipality almost every night since June 27. Preliminary police estimates put the total damage at around Rs1.62 million across 13 households.

The elephants tore through corrugated metal roofs and bamboo walls, destroying stored paddy, rice and maize, as well as clothing, household utensils, poultry sheds, pigeon coops and standing crops.

Police teams from the Beltar Area Police Office and the Basaha Police Post rushed to the affected villages after each incident and, with the help of local residents, drove the elephants back into nearby forests.

The worst-affected area is Lamachauri in ward 7.

Police estimated that Briddhi Maya Rai suffered losses of approximately Rs400,000 after her house and food supplies were damaged. Laxmi BK lost property worth around Rs300,000, while Bam Bahadur BK, Roshan BK and Bir Bahadur Magar each sustained losses estimated at Rs200,000. Khil Bahadur Magar and Radha BK each lost property worth about Rs100,000.

In ward 4, the homes and farming supplies of Asunta Rai, Sharda Rai, Durga Bahadur Basnet and Saraswati Rai were also damaged, with individual losses ranging from Rs20,000 to Rs50,000, police said.

Two more houses near the Beltar Area Police Office were damaged overnight. Police Inspector Limbu said the homes of Hari Bahadur Raut and Madan Pariyar were targeted in the latest elephant attack.

Residents said the repeated nighttime attacks have left entire communities terrified, with many afraid to venture outside after dark.

Affected families are demanding immediate relief, fair compensation and long-term measures to reduce the growing threat posed by wild elephants.

Resident Saraswati said the herd had moved west after entering the area from the east. She said the elephants spend the day hidden in forests before entering villages at night in search of food and water, destroying crops, breaking into homes and posing a growing threat to human life.

“We are afraid to move around after dark because the elephants keep returning,” Rai said.