CNP pledges to book fleeing suspects

Kathmandu - The Chitwan National Park (CNP) has pledged to arrest and punish those who fled after breaking the CNP office recently. A total of 31 people who were arrested from the CNP's western sector, Amaltari for fishing by using a banned net and carrying out suspicious activities at sensitive areas had fled the CNP office on Sunday. They fled protected by the local people and people's representatives, said the CNP's Information Officer Lokendra Adhikari.

They were arrested on Saturday from Gohighat area along the Narayani River. The accused having escaped from the CNP with the support of local people and people's representatives at a time when investigations into the matters were underway has posed security challenges in the area, said the CNP. Thirteen boats used for transporting parts of wild animals across the river have been destroyed by the CNP, said Adhikari.

The fleeing people from marginalised Bote, Majhi and Musahar communities include two from Madyabindu Municipality-3 and the remaining 29 from Kawasoti Municipality-15. The fleeing people would be brought to justice at the earliest, said the CNP's Chief Conservation Officer Ananath Baral. Sometime ago, a one-horned rhino was killed by poachers in the area. Meanwhile, the Agriculture, Cooperatives and Natural Resources Committee under the House of Representatives has drawn its serious attention to the killings of four rhinos in the CNP recently.

Then CNP observed a zero-poaching year last year, which means not killing of a single rhino by poachers throughout 365 days. However, many rhinos have been found dead in the CNP this year. Following this, the Committee is set to conduct a field inspection in the CNP in the first week of December and organise an interaction programme with stakeholders in this regard. The panel under the Committee will hold discussions with stakeholders on the habitat management for wild animals inside the Shey-Phoksundo National Park and correlations between humans and wild animals.