As dusk falls in Bahundangi, the locals brace themselves for a familiar routine. Herds of wild elephants cross the Mechi river from India and enter settlements, trampling crops, damaging homes and leaving villagers awake through the night. Human-elephant conflict has continued for years without victory for either side, turning the issue into a recurring election agenda that has yet to yield lasting solutions.

Kamal Rai, aged 74, of Bahundangi in ward 4 of Mechinagar Municipality recalls confronting elephants since childhood. “We used to chase them away with burning torches. Now they are not afraid of traditional deterrents including fire, noise, bees, and chilli smoke, or even electric fences,” he said. According to Rai, the animals have gradually become habituated to these methods, while villagers have become more vulnerable as settlements expanded along traditional elephant routes.

In earlier years, anger among residents was so intense that some openly demanded permission from authorities to kill elephants. Nilkantha Tiwari, former chairman of the then Bahundangi Village Development Committee (local unit), even made controversial remarks advocating armed resistance. Attitudes have since changed. While frustration remains, many residents now speak of coexistence rather than confrontation, acknowledging that elephants have long used the area as a natural corridor.

According to conservationists, the human-animal conflict intensified after human settlements expanded into historical elephant movement routes. Elephant specialist Narendra Pradhan explains that the region functioned as an elephant corridor long before the large-scale human habitation developed. “Elephants have followed these routes for generations. When settlements grew, encounters increased and conflict became inevitable,” said Pradhan. Harassment or attempts to provoke elephants, he said, often worsen damage as stressed animals behave unpredictably.

Older residents share similar memories. Kamala Dahal, aged 72, who has lived in the Bahundangi area since 1971, said elephant incursions were once occasional and less destructive. “They used to pass through without causing much damage. The situation became serious after the 1990s [after the restoration of multiparty democracy] when settlements and farming expanded,” she recalled.

Despite decades of suffering, locals complain that political promises have repeatedly failed to address their woes. In every election candidates pledge to control the elephant menace, but little changes on the ground.

Just below Bahundangi Bazar, women were busy harvesting mustard when Januka Khatiwada voiced a fresh worry. “This time even mustard has become elephant feed. Nothing will be left for us,” she lamented.

Last year, ward 4 of Mechinagar Municipality introduced a subsidy on mustard seeds, encouraging farmers to grow crops believed to be less vulnerable to elephant damage. But days ago, elephants destroyed mustard fields in the Aldangi area of the same ward, deepening farmers’ anxiety. “They leave nothing behind—paddy, maize, millet, buckwheat—everything is gone. Our leaders don’t understand our suffering,” said local resident Usha Dahal.

Locals argue that Nepal and India must work together to stop elephants at the border. “Only then will we get relief. Otherwise this pain will never end,” said Bimala Dahal, another local. Although wildlife experts note that elephants recognise no national boundaries, many farmers believe India deliberately allows herds to cross when crops ripen in Nepal.

Over the past two decades, successive leaders elected to the federal legislature from the area including Dharma Ghimire, Rabin Koirala, Ram Karki and Bishwa Prakash Sharma pledged control measures, from fencing to monitoring. Yet incursions persist. “Leaders win elections with our votes and reach Parliament, but our suffering remains,” said Dal Bahadur Karki.

Wards 1 to 4 of Mechinagar Municipality, the Chure belt of Arjundhara Municipality and northern part of Buddhashanti Rural Municipality are hugely affected by elephant menace, making it a shared problem of all five electoral constituencies of Jhapa. The local people also criticise CPN-UML Chairman and former prime minister KP Sharma Oli for failing to implement a long-term solution despite holding office three times.

Over 100 people killed in elephant attacks in two decades

According to the Division Forest Office in Jhapa, more than 100 people have lost their lives in elephant attacks in the district over the past two decades. During the same period, over 30 elephants have also been killed, while properties worth millions of rupees and vast stretches of farmland have been destroyed.

Local resident Krishnamaya Khatri questions why the problem remains unresolved despite visible infrastructure development in the area. “Dusty roads have been blacktopped and drinking water has reached our homes. What has stopped leaders from solving the elephant problem?” she questioned. Khatri, who once farmed nearly four bighas of land on sharecropping terms, abandoned agriculture after repeated losses. “Two years ago, we could not harvest a single grain,” she said.

Many farmers have shifted from paddy cultivation to tea, yet falling prices have created new worries. “Costs are rising, but market prices are low,” complained Min Bahadur Karki, a tea farmer.

An electric fence built with support from the World Bank at a cost of around Rs20 million has proven largely ineffective. Locals said that damaged solar batteries, broken or stolen wires and poor maintenance have rendered it useless. “If the fence worked, how are elephants still entering daily?” said Bimal Khadka.

Frustrated residents have demanded that Bahundangi be officially declared an elephant-affected disaster zone, arguing that such recognition would help secure compensation and long-term mitigation programmes. They accuse elected representatives of indifference to the matter.

Ward 4 chief Arjun Kumar Karki, however, said efforts are under way to expand insurance and compensation schemes in coordination with Ujyalo Nepal of Bardiya. However, he acknowledges that local initiatives alone cannot solve the problem.