September 3, 2025
GELEPHU – It was close to midnight on August 27 when 60-year-old Namgay Tshomo was jolted awake by the rumbling noise of a lone elephant hitting the walls of her room. For the past two years, she has rented two rooms in a single-storey bungalow at Tashiling, Gelephu town, alongside three other families.
Namgay Tshomo sleeps alone in the sitting room, which also functions as the kitchen and bedroom. After she yelled, her high-school-going daughter stirred in the other room, and a neighbour rushed to drive the elephant away.
“At first, I thought it was the ceiling fan on that rainy night,” Namgay Tshomo says, her voice still trembling with fear. “I was too scared to even stand up and could barely get out of the room.”
“He (a neighbour) threw stones at the elephant to chase it away. Finally, it left after almost an hour,” she recalled. “I was fortunate to have remained safe that night.”
As the single mother walks through the ruins, the impact of the elephant attack is painfully evident. Large portions of two sides of her room have been damaged, and the walls are cracked. Kitchen utensils are broken, and the television shattered.
While she prepares to move into an affordable home, her kitchen has been temporarily relocated to the walkway veranda, and the refrigerator plugged into a neighbour’s room. Namgay Tshomo shares the smaller room with her daughter, which is used as an altar and a space dedicated to studying and homework.
“It is frightening, and I can no longer live here,” she says, adding that this will be the case even for the next three months until her daughter completes her board exams.
A monthly rent of Nu 2,000, reduced from Nu 3,000 after she pleaded with her landlord for a concession due to her financial constraints, still remains a burden as she has no source of income.
Her two children and their spouses arrived the following day, stayed with her for three days, and helped with the essential rations. “We reported the incident to the forest office, but there is no support for the elephant damage,” said her son.
For months, residents say, the lone elephant has been loitering in the area. Its presence has left many on edge, but for Namgay Tshomo, the danger became all too real that night.
The threat extends beyond homes. On the night of August 29, a herd of 10 elephants damaged over 30 decimals of paddy spread across 25 large terraces at Dawathang in Chhuzagang. The field belongs to a farmer in Nimaling.
Nimaling Tshogpa Nima Dorji said that farmers are at the receiving end of elephant damage in the settlements along the borders. “A herd has damaged several areca nut trees in recent months,” he added.
The incidents were reported to the Gewog administration, which then submits a report to the Dzongkhag Administration for the official record. Without sustainable solutions, farmers say human-elephant conflict will continue to leave them devastated.
