JHAPA, July 18: Four elephants were found dead in different parts of Jhapa district over the last Fiscal Year (FY), according to the District Forest Office (DFO).
According to the DFO, Jhapa, the number of deaths of elephants during the FY 2023/24 is the highest in the past 14 years.
From the FY 2010/11 to 2023/24, 21 elephants had died.
In between this period, generally, one to two elephants died in a year when the figure was three in the FY 2018/19.
Wild elephant found dead on Sukhiya river bank
The finding of the carcasses of animals with their tusks removed suggests that elephant poaching is on the rise in the district.
Likewise, six people were killed in elephant attacks in Jhapa in one year, totaling 60 in the past 14 years.
The cases of fatalities from the attacks by elephants are not uncommon in the district. Similarly, elephants caused havoc in settlements, leaving the people injured, demolishing their houses and damaging the foodstuffs.
Last fiscal year, families of the people killed in elephant attacks received Rs one million in compensation for a person killed and the authorities concerned paid Rs three million for other losses.
According to Chief of Jhapa DFO Meghraj Rai, although there is the provision of Rs 200,000 compensation for an injury from the animal, the treatment costs a huge amount.
Jhapa is considered one of the districts highly affected by elephants. Of the total relief compensation for elephants' attacks across the country, some 11 percent was distributed in the district alone.
RSS
