Kathmandu – Maya Kumal spends sleepless night almost every day for fear of wild animals. A resident of Tribeni Rural Municipality-1, Nawalparasi, Kumal’s house is close to the forest. She has no idea when the rhino will attack her. She walks freely during the afternoon as there is movement of her neighbours and relatives. But her fear increases gradually after the sun goes down.
She is even scared to go the toilet. There is no facility of toilet inside the house like that in the city areas. Kumal is so paranoid that she actually mistakes every black object she sees for rhino. “I feel insecure and scared when I am alone in the house, especially during the night time,” she said.
Not only Kumal, Man Bahadur Kumal of the same village also spends the entire night fearing rhino. Rhinos enter the human settlement frequently. Though there has not been any instance of rhino attacking human so far, the villagers live constant that they could be attacked by the rhino anywhere and anytime. People run helter-skelter when they see a rhino. Dhan Maya Pulami had recently heard the news of rhino attacking people in various places. Pulami fears that she will fall prey to rhino any time.
However, the wild animals have also been destroying the crops of local people. Karna Kumar Shrestha worked hard to cultivate crops. He was working tirelessly to increase the production. This year he was expecting a good yield that his store will be filled with crops. But the rhino destroyed all the crops right before the harvest. “How will we survive without cultivating the crops? If we cultivate the crops, rhinos destroy them before we harvest,” he said. This is just an exemplary case. People are terrified after wild the animals destroyed their crops worth millions every year. They had adopted many ways to protect their crops but to no avail.
Grievance of rural municipality
People of Tribeni Rural Municipality go to the office of rural municipality with the complaints whenever rhinos destroy their crops. Mina Kumari Rana Magar, Vice-Chairperson of Tribeni Rural Municipality, said that the people have been affected a lot due to the wild animals. They come to the rural municipality seeking solution for the wild animals, she said.
“Locals of this rural municipality have been terrorized as the rhinos have been frequenting the area and destroying the crops. The complaints about rhinos destroying the crops have been increasing every day,” Magar said, adding, “We have not been able to do anything even though we want to bail them out of this serious problem. We have been thinking of way to minimize the conflict between people and wild animals.” The government has formulated a provision in Wildlife Damage Relief Guideline, 2072 that the concerned authority will provide compensation to the property damaged by the wild animals.
The provision states that the victims will be provided up to Rs 10, 000 in compensation on the basis of the recommendation of concerned consumers committee, village development committee and municipal office.
However, the villagers say they have no knowledge such a provision. “We don’t know where we get the compensation,” said local Man Bahadur Pulami. “We will be so happy if we get the compensation,” he added. They lament that the rural municipality has not taken any initiative regarding this issue.
Bishnu Shrestha, spokesperson at the Department of National Park and Wildlife Conservation, said that the victims will get the compensation if they filed complaints at the concerned authority. “We have heard that many people have not received compensation,” he added. “Compensation will be provided on the basis of complaints,” Shrestha said.
What is in the Guidelines?
Types of damage caused by wild animals and criteria for compensation:
- According to the Guidelines, compensation will be provided to the family members if a person loses his/her in a wild animal attack outside the premises of conserved area and national park. The concerned authority will also bear the costs for treatment of the injured persons. Similarly, relief amount will also be provided to the persons deployed by the concerned authority in the conserved area and national park if they are attacked by the wild animals.
- Compensation will be provided to the people if the wild animals attack and kill their cattle outside the conserved area and national park. But the compensation will be provided by deducting the insurance amount if the people have insured their cattle.
- Relief amount will be provided only if the wild animals destroy the crops stored in the house or in shed.
- Relief amount will be provided on the basis of damage caused by the wild animals to the house and shed used by the people.
- Relief amount will be provided on the basis of evaluation if the wild animals destroy the crops
- Compensation will be provided if the wild animals cause damage to the settlements in the conserved area of the Himalayan region.
Policy to demand relief and distribute relief
- One should file a complaint at the office of concerned conserved area or district forest office within 358 days of the incident to claim the relief amount.
- The Relief Distribution Recommendation Committee will take decision over the applications and demand the regional forest directorate about the relief amount through the office of coordinator.
- The relief amount will be provided in the presence of two persons through the District Forest Office.
- The relief amount will be provided to the family members of the deceased and injured persons.
- The concerned authority will provide up to Rs 50, 000 to the family members of the deceased and up to Rs 10,000 to the family members of the injured person.
- The relief amount will be provided through cheque.
