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Among the patients who came for treatment in various hospitals of the district, 588 people have been diagnosed with dengue infection.

Out of the 2,394 patients who came to the hospital, 588 were found to be infected with dengue. Of the infected, 417 are from Chitwan, while 171 are from outside the district, informed Ram KC, vector controller of Public Health Office, Chitwan.

He said, “Mosquitoes bite two hours before sunrise and two hours before sunset. Those who come in contact with mosquitoes more during that time are at risk of infection." Since July, 236 people have been infected with dengue in Ichchhakamana Rural Municipality.

Similarly, 107 people have been infected in Bharatpur Metropolitan City-11 in Khairhani, 49 in Ratnanagar, three in Madi, three in Rapti and eight in Kalika Municipality, KC informed.

According to him, there are 225 women and 192 men among the infected people found in the district.

KC said that dengue is seen especially in August and October because it creates a favorable environment for mosquitoes when there will be rain and sun shine simultaneously. He said, "Now the infection has started to be seen since the beginning of July."

Police have arrested four people on the charge of killing a rhino in Chitwan.

Chitwan National Park's Chief Conservation Officer Dil Bahadur Purja Pun said that they were arrested on the charge of killing a rhino by snaring it in an electric trap at Bharatpur Metropolitan City-26 in Chitwan district recently.

According to Pun, a 13-year-old female pachyderm was found dead in an electric snare that was planted by the villagers to capture wild boars that frequented fields near settlement and ate up crops including maize.

Further investigation into the incident was underway, he said.

At first it appeared that the rhino died due to natural causes but an autopsy of the dead one revealed that it died of electrocution. Police held four persons suspected of killing the pachyderm.

"Although the horns and hooves of the protected animal are safe, activities like injuring, chasing and killing wild animals fall under the smuggling," he explained.

Two suspected ones were arrested on July 23 and two others nabbed on July 25 as part of the investigation. The arrested ones are remanded for additional six days under the Act relating to the Protected Wildlife Smuggling.

The Act has a provision of fine ranging from Rs 500 thousand to Rs 1 million and imprisonment for a term from 5 to 15 years for those involved in such activities.

A female endangered one-horned rhino was found dead at Bhagadi, Bharatpur Metropolitan City-26 in the buffer zone of the Chitwan National Park today.

Park information officer Ganesh Prasad Tiwari said that the carcass of a female rhino was found at the Park's Kalabanjar Buffer Zone Users Community Forest. According to him, the horn and hooves of the dead rhino are intact and no signs of wounds are seen on the animal's body. Similarly, no suspicious articles were found at the location.

Based on this, Tiwari said, the rhino might have died of natural causes, probably due to age.

A team of veterinarians from the CNP has already reached the site and the cause of the rhino's death will be known after the team carries out a postmortem, he said.

As many as 115 people were killed in various road accidents in Chitwan in a year.

The human casualties took place during the last fiscal year from mid-July 2023 to mid-July 2024.

The highway sections saw a higher number of accidents and fatalities than those on the inner roads in the district. Among the deceased, 92 were men, 19 women and four children. A total of 445 vehicles had met with accidents during the period.

Chief of the District Traffic Police Office, Suresh Subedi said 832 people were injured in the road mishaps.

A total of 250 vehicles had met with accidents on inner roads of the district in the last one year. At least 50 people were killed and 382 others injured in road accidents in the interior area. At least 57 people were killed in road accidents along the East-West Highway, Narayangadh-Muglin road section and Prithvi Highway.

At least 26 people were killed and 204 others injured in 96 accidents along the East-West Highway. Similarly, 21 people were killed in 55 accidents on the Narayangadh-Muglin road section. A total of 151 people were injured in the incidents, according to the Chitwan traffic official data.

At least 10 people were killed and 62 others injured in 18 road accidents along the Prithvi Highway in Chitwan. A total of 26 accidents occurred in the urban road section of the district during the same period.

Eight people were killed and 33 others injured in the accident. A total of 303 vehicles met with accidents in the district in the fiscal year 2079/80 BS.

A total of 78 people were killed and 581 others injured in the accidents. Subedi said, "No matter how much work has been done to reduce vehicle accidents, it has not been effective". A total of 663 vehicles had met with road mishaps in the district in the last fiscal year.

Ramprit Yadav was a ranger working in Chitwan in the late 1960s before Chitwan National Park (CNP) was established. He later became a warden of CNP. “In 2026 BS (1969),” he told me, “our team conducted a survey to establish the national park without consulting the Tharus of Chitwan.” He thinks this was a mistake. CNP officials should have consulted the Tharus because their traditional practices helped create a habitat for Chitwan’s famous rhinos and tigers.

Yadav credits the Tharus for teaching him about conservation.“In 1973, when I started working as a member of the national park, I was only 22 years old. I had only read about trees and plant conservation in college courses. For the first 10-15 years, I learned how to conserve wildlife from the indigenous Tharus of Chitwan, which was very useful in conserving wildlife.'”

When CNP was created in 1973, the army prevented Tharu men and women who lived nearby from using the areas inside the park that they had relied upon and cared for, for generations. In 2003, the park was expanded in the east by removing Padampur VDC, where 10,000 people, mostly the Tharus, lived.  When we look at the history of Chitwan, we see that Tharu traditional methods helped make Chitwan a good area for wildlife in two ways: Wetland management and grassland management. After removing the Tharus, the park wetlands and grasslands suffered. That meant the Tharus suffered and so did rhinos and tigers. Conservationists like to talk about “win-win” scenarios. This was “lose-lose.”

The indigenous Tharu community of Old Padampur had been cultivating the flatlands for generations by creating a canal from the Churia Hills to the south. The traditional way of irrigation from the canal brought tree leaves as manure to the farmlands, which helped greatly in enhancing agricultural production. After using the water they needed, the Tharus used to divert the leftover water inside the national park, which helped give new life to the park’s wetlands. The conservation of wetlands created a habitat for rhinos and birds.

Before 1973, the small ponds inside the forest were routinely dug out by the indigenous Tharus during Chaitra, Baishakh, and Jestha to make the ponds better for fishing. This practice helped in water conservation in the wetlands. But after the establishment of CNP in 1973, all these activities were stopped by the park officials and the small ponds dried up.

The eastern parts of Old Padampur encompassed Jitpur and Amelia, and the western part was Jayamangala, Bankatta, and Bhawanipur. At that time, as a result of the conservation of wetlands in the eastern parts of CNP, the rhino census report showed a good number of rhinos in that area. However, comparing the recent rhino census in 2021 to the time when Old Padampur was inhabited, the count has significantly decreased. In 2003, the park was expanded but the number of rhinos dropped.

Source: Rhino Count 2021

Paugi Chaudhary, a 70-year-old resident of Old Padampur, reminisces, “When I was in Padampur, I used to bring 10-15 kg of fish and 20-25 kg of Ghonghi (snails) from the paddy field in a day, but after the relocation from inside the park, all those things disappeared.”

Bal Singh Chaudhary (84) recalls, “When Old Padampur was inside the national park, there were 15-20 rhinos in one pond inside the park. With the removal of Padampur and other Tharu villages from the national park area in the late 1990s, all those large ponds have dried up.”

According to Ram Giri Chaudhary, a nature guide at CNP, “Nowadays, you can see 1-2 rhinos in the ponds inside the park only with difficulty.”

Before the establishment of the national park, each Tharu village used to have 300–400 domestic cattle (cows and oxen), and those cattle used to graze in the park’s grasslands. At that time, grasslands made up 20 percent of the park.

“Before the establishment of the national park,” says ex-warden Ramprit Yadav, “the indigenous Tharu people managed the national park in two ways: Firstly, they grazed their domestic animals inside the park and secondly, they harvested the grass for the construction of their traditional houses, once a year.”

Tharu people also used to set fire to the grassland. Only after lighting fire, it was easy to cut grass, and only after setting fire did new grass grow. This helped in forest management as well as in wildlife conservation. It created a habitat for rhinos and deer. Ramprit Yadav says, “Earlier, all Tharu houses were made of reeds, and they used to build temporary houses on the river banks for three months of the year, and cut and burn reeds in the forest during the three winter months—Mangsir, Poush and Magh. This helped a lot in managing the grasslands in the forest.”

According to Aashis Gurung, information officer for the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC), “After burning the reeds, the calcium, magnesium, and nitrogen from the reeds mix with the soil, helping the new grass to grow. This is why the condition of the grasslands in the National Park is better where the grass is burned than where it is cut by machines.”

The ban on grazing cattle and cutting grass and reeds for house construction (imposed in 1973 and 2003), along with the ban on controlled burning, hurt the grasslands. A 2016 Chitwan National Park report shows only 6.42 percent of the grasslands remained. Grasslands are crucial for rhinos and other park wildlife. According to the director of NTNC, Chiren Pokharel, “Before removal of the Tharu community from the park, the population of rhino and other animals in that area was statistically good, but after the displacement (of Tharu communities), the number of rhinos and other animals in the same area has gone down.”

It is true that for many years after 1973, Tharu and other local people were allowed into the park to burn and cut grass for 15 days a year. That window for cutting was reduced as time went by. During the Maoist civil war, cutting was stopped altogether. Afterwards, the grasslands really suffered.

It was not only the rhino who suffered from the loss of grasslands; birds also suffered. According to Ramesh Chaudhary, former chair of the Bird Education Society, Sauraha, “Birds that are found only in short (siru) grasslands, such as Bengal Florican, Lesser Florican, Selender-bellied Babbler and Jerdon's Babbler have disappeared from Chitwan.”

The main food for these birds, insects, are found in short (siru) grasslands. Those foods were found in the dung and feces of domestic animals grazing in the jungle. Many people believe that removing the Tharus from CNP will be helpful for biodiversity and wildlife conservation, but so far, it has turned out to be just the opposite. This is because CNP officials didn’t understand the knowledge of Chitwan’s indigenous Tharu people in managing wetlands and grasslands. Without Tharu management, Chitwan’s wetlands and grasslands have disappeared, reducing habitat for rhinos and deer and other wildlife.

Last year, when the census showed that the number of Chitwan’s tigers had nearly tripled, the Government of Nepal and the donor agencies were widely applauded at the national and international level. But the indigenous Tharu people, who were displaced from their ancestral land to make the park and who suffer disproportionately from wildlife killings and crop raiding, were not acknowledged anywhere despite their traditional conservation practices that helped make Chitwan a suitable habitat for wildlife like tigers, rhinos and deer.

A person died and 22 others were injured when four vehicles collided with each other at Satrakilo in Bharatpur Metropolitan City-29 in Chitwan along the Narayangadh-Mugling road section on Sunday.

The identity of the deceased is yet to be ascertained, police said.

Bhesraj Rijal, spokesperson at the District Police Office, Chitwan, said that three buses and a truck had collided with each other last night.

The road remained obstructed for some hours after the incident. However, two-way traffic resumed this morning, Rijal added.

Eighteen injured passengers are undergoing treatment at a local hospital, Kurintar, while four others at Chitwan Medical College.

Unidentified persons hurled a petrol bomb at a bus near Dadrahani Bridge in Bharatpur Metropolitan City-20, Chitwan on Sunday.

Deputy Superintendent Bhesh Raj Rijal, spokesperson at the District Police Office, Chitwan, said that a group of six persons hurled the petrol bomb at the bus (Bagmati Province 06001 Ka 0045) which was on its way to pick students this morning.

They told the driver and his helper to come out of the bus before throwing the Molotov cocktail.

The bus was completely destroyed in the fire.

DSP Rijal said that they are searching for the persons involved in the incident.

A person died in a cooking gas cylinder explosion at Phulbari of West Chitwan.

Police identified the deceased as 50-year-old Manish Thapa of Dairy Chowk, Bharatpur Metropolitan City-15.

Deputy Superintendent at the District Police Office, Chitwan, Shreeram Bhandari said it is suspected that Thapa was killed when the gas cylinder exploded while he was cooking food in his room on Monday.

The cooking gas explosion took place inside the compound of the Abinash Fertilizer Company.

DSP Bhandari said further investigation into the incident is underway.

Bird census has started in Chitwan today.

Bird Education Society Chitwan has started counting the birds from Rapti River, Budhirapti, Dhumre, Kasara and other areas of East Chitwan.

According to the district president of the society, Tikaram Giri, bird census started from Saturday across the country but it has started in Chitwan from today. Birds will be counted at nine locations in East Chitwan, to be followed by a census in West Chitwan.

The census is scheduled to be completed by January 21. Binocular cameras, GPS, sound recorders etc. are being used to count the birds.

So far, more than 650 species of birds have been found in Chitwan district.

Bird counting has been taking place in Nepal since 1987.

Of the total 717 jailbirds in Chitwan prison, 111 are found to have suffered from different diseases.

The officials at the prison office shared that more than half of the patients are suffering from high blood pressure.

Kamal Prasad Acharya, chief of the prison, said that the number of patients in Chitwan jail is on the rise. This is also due to the arrival of the jailbirds from other districts for treatment.

The inmates from Nawalparasi, Dhading, Gorkha, Makawanpur and other neighboring countries are taken here for their medical treatment, Acharya shared.

Currently, 26 diabetes patients and four people living with HIV are doing their time in Chitwan jail.

Likewise, there are three thyroid patients, four heart patients, for epilepsy patients and five mental patients.

The Chitwan prison is overcrowded as well since more than 200 inmates are housed than the jail's capacity.

The jail administration also shared that the officials have faced difficulties for the treatment of the jailbirds for lack of sufficient budget. "We are taking support from donors for the treatment of jailbirds for lack of budget to purchase medicines," Acharya shared.

Two people died when a jeep hit a motorbike on the bridge over Chitai Khola at Chitai Khola in Madi Municipality-1, Chitwan on Saturday.

Police identified the deceased as bike rider Surya Adhikari, accountant of the Someshwar Secondary School, and pillion rider Beg Bahadur Khatri, teacher of the same school.

Another teacher Bhawani Prasad Poudel was injured in the incident, Chief of Madi Area Police Office, Deepak Rijal, said.

The incident occurred when the four-wheeler (Lu 2 Cha 2508) hit the two-wheeler (Bagmati Province 06001P 4093) last evening.

Khatri died during the treatment at the Bagouda Hospital while Adhikari died at the Bharatpur Hospital this morning.

Adhikari was a resident of Madi Municipality-1 and Khatri was from Agrigaon of Sinta Rural Municipality-3, Surkhet.

Poudel, who was injured in the accident, is undergoing treatment at the Old Medical College in Bharatpur. His condition is reported to be stable.

Police said that they are looking into the case.

Migratory birds from home and foreign countries have started flocking to the Chitwan National Park and surroundings in Chitwan district.

The migration of such birds including ducks, hawks and kites takes place every year to avoid cold. President of the Bird Education Society Chitwan Tikaram Giri said such birds have been spotted on the river banks and at water bodies. According to him, 12 to 15 species of ducks from foreign countries have been seen in the Narayani and Rapti rivers, and Riukhola.  

Saying the birds started coming in from August, he said many such migratory birds had arrived, and some others would reach by end-October. Even from the hilly areas of Nepal, birds come to Chitwan to avoid cold, he said.

Ornithologist Hem Sagar Baral said birds come to Nepal from countries including Siberia, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and China.  Birds like various species of duck like Chakhewa, Suiropuchhre, Malak, Khadakhade, Bijula and Gairi are among the migratory birds that visit Nepal to avoid cold, he said. "It is found that birds migrate to the southern area from northern one to avoid cold."

According to him, 100 of 150 species of birds that come to Nepal as visitors have arrived in Nepal this season so far. These birds would return from the south to the north after six months during the time of hatching, he said. These birds visit Nepal as during winter, the days are shorter and nights are longer in the north pole of the earth, and there is short time for them to graze, he said.

Particularly, birds living in wetlands, grasslands, forests and farmlands visit Nepal during winter, it has been said. There are 892 species of birds across Nepal with 650 species in Chitwan alone. 

Rapti, Narayani and Riu rivers that run through the CNP and wetlands in the surroundings are good habitats for waterbirds while the CNP, buffer zones, parks and community forests are considered good areas for wandering.

A Royal Bengal tiger has been found dead in the Hariyali Community Forest in Chitwan.

The female tiger of around six to seven years old was found dead in the community forest under the buffer zone of Chitwan National Park (CNP) at Bharatpur Municipality-27 this morning, said CNP Information Officer Ganesh Prasad Tiwari.

According to Tiwari, it is suspected that the tiger might have died due to a fight with another tiger.

A team of CNP has brought the dead tigress to Kasara for postmortem.

There are 128 tigers in CNP as per a tiger census conducted in 2022.