Human-Wildlife Conflict Management Emerges as Key Election Issue in Banke Constituency 1

Banke. Human-wildlife conflict management has become a major election issue for the House of Representatives election scheduled for February 21 in Banke Constituency No. 1.

In this constituency, which encompasses Kohalpur Municipality, Raptisasonari Rural Municipality, and Narainapur Rural Municipality, the presence of wild animals such as tigers and leopards in the Banke National Park, community forests, and national forests has increased significantly over the past few years.

Hem Chapagain, a resident of Tallo Mahadeva in Raptisasonari Rural Municipality-9, stated that he will vote for the candidate who brings an implementable plan for the effective management of human-wildlife conflict, as incidents of wild animals entering human settlements daily and human deaths due to attacks by carnivorous animals are on the rise.

He emphasized that parties and candidates must prioritize addressing the damage caused to crops by wild animals in the buffer zone and surrounding areas of the national park, as well as the loss of livestock and human lives due to tiger attacks.

Indra Bahadur Khatri, 40, a resident of Guruwagaun Model Toll in Raptisasonari-9, and Marichman Bhandari, a resident of Souri in Raptisasonari Rural Municipality-1, Kusum, lost their lives to tiger attacks in just the last six months of the current fiscal year. Furthermore, Ward Chairman Yam Bahadur Khadka of Raptisasonari Rural Municipality-1 reported continuous attacks on livestock tied up or taken to the jungle for grazing. He stated that fencing and wildlife management in the national park area are necessary due to the recent loss of human lives prematurely, along with significant damage to livestock and crops, from attacks by tigers and other wild animals in the national park buffer zone.

Surya Dhakal, the CPN (UML) candidate for House of Representatives in Banke Constituency No. 1, said that he has been consulting and coordinating with relevant bodies to resolve the increasingly challenging human-wildlife conflict management. Dhakal, who was elected in the 2079 House of Representatives election, mentioned that he initiated a plan to fence the national park area to protect the public from wildlife in the past.

“The lives of the people are a crucial matter. I raised this issue in parliament multiple times,” Dhakal said. “Wildlife management remains my primary agenda in the upcoming election as well.”

Narayana Gaudel, the candidate from the Nepali Congress for the House of Representatives here, also stated that wildlife management is his primary electoral issue. He mentioned that he will focus on coordinating with relevant bodies to manage the situation and create an environment where people can live safely. “The people here have been repeatedly complaining about human-wildlife conflict management, and my party and I are taking these issues seriously,” Gaudel said.

Following the nomination filing, candidates in Banke Constituency No. 1 are currently campaigning door-to-door meeting voters. Candidates are presenting their agendas during their door-to-door visits, while candidates from parties that have been in government in the past are seeking votes by showcasing development works carried out in their constituencies.

Dhakal of the UML, who won the 2079 election in Banke Constituency No. 1, is working hard to win again as the UML candidate this time. CPN (UML) District Secretary Balram Bhattarai said, “After Dhakal was elected, he raised the issue of wildlife and other problems at the national level and worked towards solving them, so we expect the people to trust him again this time.”

In the 2079 election, UML candidate Dhakal won by securing 25,026 votes, while his closest competitor, then CPN (Maoist Centre) leader Maheshwar Gahatraj, received 19,632 votes. In the proportional representation category, the UML also received the highest number of votes here with 16,876. The Congress, which supported the Maoist Centre candidate in the first-past-the-post contest, received the second-highest number of votes in proportional representation here with 14,218, after the UML.

The Nepali Congress has nominated District President Gaudel as the candidate for the first-past-the-post contest this time.

Narendra Prasad Pandey is the candidate from the Communist Party of Nepal here. Krishna KC is the candidate from the Progressive Democratic Party, formed under the leadership of Janardan Sharma after splitting from the then CPN (Maoist Centre). The Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has nominated Suresh Kumar Chaudhary.