Villagers of Tsangchhutham in Samdrup Jongkhar are breathing a sigh of relief, thanks to electric fences that are helping protect their areca nut trees from wild boars. Until now, the villagers had a difficult life trying to guard one of their main cash crops from the wild animals. The electric fences were installed by the Gewog Administration about a month ago, and the results have been nothing short of remarkable.
It used to be a common sight to see areca nuts damaged by wild boars in Tsangchhutham village. Until recently, the people here had sleepless nights from trying to guard their areca nuts.
The villagers were at their wits’ end trying to protect their livelihood, until the electric fences came to their rescue.
Since installing the electric fences, the villagers have noticed a significant decrease in the incidents of wild boars damaging their areca nut trees.
They can now focus on tending to their crops and harvesting the areca nuts without worrying about the animals wreaking havoc.
“It is all going well because the wild boars are not able to enter thanks to the electric fences. It is also able to keep out the monkeys sometimes because of the electric shocks. The fences can keep out the wild animals and stop them from damaging our crops,” said Khara Nanda Rizal, a resident of Tsangchhutham.
“Wild boars would come and damage the areca nut trees here, but now with the electric fences, we are hoping the wild boars will not cause any damage anymore,” said Til Bahadur Thapa, another resident.
“We work hard and then the wild boars come and damage the areca nut trees. We are not able to cultivate anything. Let’s see what happens now, we are hopeful the fences will keep them out,” said Damber Maya Thapa, also a resident.
The 3.5-kilometre electric fencing benefits about 48 households in Tsangchhutham village.
The Phuentshothang Gewog Administration also provided one kilometre of electric fences to Wongdaza and Dzomlegthang villages which are facing the same problems.
The office spent more than Nu 300,000 to install the electric fences.
Kinley Wangchuk, Samdrup Jongkhar
Edited by Yeshi Gyaltshen
