Dolakha, March 23 -- Residents of Lapchi, a remote settlement in Dolakha district bordering China, have been left in despair as Himalayan bears break into homes and consume stored food.

During winter, all houses in Lapchi are locked as residents drive their yaks and chauris down to Lumnang in Bigu Rural Municipality-1 to escape the biting cold.

Kunju Norbu Sherpa, a local, said Himalayan bears frequently break into these vacant houses to eat grain and other essentials that villagers procure from the Tibetan market in Tashigang. To protect their supplies, locals have started placing planks studded with iron nails at the main entrances of their homes.

"We descend to Lumnang around mid-November to escape the cold, and that is when the bea...