KATHMANDU, July 9: Round-the-clock monitoring has been started to bring the wild elephant named 'Dhruve' under control after it entered the village settlements from the Chitwan National Park.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forest and Environment has stated that a technical team from the park, the Nepali Army and the National Trust for Nature Conservation has been mobilized to bring the elephant under control. Minister for Agriculture, Forest and Environment Geeta Chaudhary is reported to have directed the same.
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It may be noted that Ashika Bote, 25, a resident of Madi Municipality-1 and currently residing in Belhatta, and her four-year-old son Bharat died in an attack by the elephant in Bharatpur Metropolitan City-23, Chitwan, on July 4.
According to Minister Chaudhary, preparations are being made to install a radio collar using darts if the elephant is found in a suitable place within the park. After the radio collar is installed, the elephant's activities will be monitored around the clock.
She has also urged the concerned locals to take necessary precautions by conveying the information about the wild elephant entering the settlements in the buffer zone in a timely manner.
Meanwhile, Minister Chaudhary said that immediate relief has been provided to the families of those who lost their lives in the attack by the elephant. Within three days of the incident, the families of the deceased have been provided with a relief amount of Rs. 2 million.
The ministry has stated that an additional Rs. 100,000 has been provided to the families of the deceased from the Human-Wildlife Conflict Management Fund run by the National Nature Conservation Trust.
