Udayapur, June 29 -- A herd of wild elephants has repeatedly entered settlements in Udayapur district over the past two weeks, damaging homes, food stocks and farmland and forcing residents to live in constant fear.

According to Police Inspector Prabhab Limbu, chief of the Beltar Area Police Office, the elephants have entered wards 4 and 7 of Chaudandigadhi Municipality almost every night since June 27. Preliminary police estimates put the total damage at around Rs1.62 million across 13 households.

The elephants tore through corrugated metal roofs and bamboo walls, destroying stored paddy, rice and maize, as well as clothing, household utensils, poultry sheds, pigeon coops and standing crops.

Police teams from the Beltar Area Police Of...