By Siraj Khan
Nepalgunj, Oct. 7: The East-West Highway in Banke district has, of late, become unsafe for travelling because of the frequent sightings of tigers on the busy road. The Bengal tigers (Patebagh), which have been sighted in the Gavar area of ​​the district since September first week, have now started appearing near Amilia on the border of Banke and Dang districts. Drivers of vehicles have said that it is becoming very challenging to travel on the highway as tigers are spotted everywhere.

To control any unwanted incident, the Banke National Park has already imposed a ban on the movement of two-wheelers and three-wheelers from Kusum to Amilia at night.
Deepak Thapa, a driver of a Kathmandu-Nepalgunj passenger bus, said that it was difficult to travel in the area as the tigers started appearing during the daytime as well.

According to the Area Police Office in Kohalpur, vehicles have been sent from Kohalpur after the office received information that a group of tigers are seen around the highway on a daily basis.
Chief of the Area Police Office, Kohalpur, DSP Rabindra Khanal said that the journey from Kusum to Amilia on the East-West Highway in Banke became dangerous because of the movements of tigers.
The park has requested public not to ride motorcycles and open vehicles in the area at least for two weeks. Strict instructions have been given not to operate such vehicles at night.

A 45-year-old Indian man was dragged from the road near Gavar in Banke on September 12 and eaten by two tigers. Since then, a large number of tigers have been appearing in the area.
Similarly, Setu Oli, Hira Khadka and Kalika Khadka, residents of Raptisonari Rural Municipality Ward No. 1 of Banke, who had gone to graze buffaloes and goats last Saturday, were surrounded by a group of tigers.
They had climbed a tree to save their lives after being surrounded by three tigers near Kharchetal, about a kilometre south of the East-West Highway. They were later rescued using two elephants by a park team.
Meanwhile, Banke National Park has been trying to control the tigers.

Chief conservation officer of the park Shyam Shah said that efforts are being made to control the tigers by deploying elephants, Nepali Army teams and technicians.