Leopards unleash terror in parts of Dehradun
Shishir Prashant
When Kuldip Chowdhary was closing his shop Sunday night at Nagalhat Nala in the foothills of Mussoorie in Dehradun, he heard the shouts of some boys who have seen a leopard in the area. But by the time he looked at the place from where the noise was being heard, the leopard had run away into the nearby jungles.
“It is very scary during nights in our Nagalhat Nala area these days. We are keeping our children mostly indoor. The yesterday’s attack on a child in the Canal Road area was very frightening,” said Chowdhary, who runs a grocery shop.
Hukam Singh Rawat, a cook in a restaurant at Talla Nagal, area also narrated a similar incident saying he has also seen a leopard prowling in the area. Samir Khan showed a video of Kala Gaon area where three leopards are crossing the road. “Actually there are three leopards in our area. You never know when you are attacked especially during evenings and nights,” said Khan.
Expressing concern over the leopard attacks in Dehradun and other parts of Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday called for preparing an action plan to stop human-animal conflicts and increasing to Rs 6 lakh the compensation payable in the case of death.
At a meeting held at the secretariat, the chief Minister asked the Principal Secretary Forest and Environment R Sudhanshu to work on the action plan and take action against the erring forest officials. He said the forest department should install cages at various places to capture the leopards and increase night patrolling in the areas where the leopards are prowling.
“In all those places where man-animal conflicts are taking place, the forest department should remain in alert mode,” the Chief Minister said.
He asked the forest department to put forward a proposal for increasing the compensation to Rs 6 lakh from Rs 4 lakh in case of death of a person in the man-animal conflicts. In the last meeting of the state wildlife board last year, the Chief Minister had called for increasing the compensation amount to Rs 6 lakh. He had asked the forest department to put forward a proposal in this regard before the state cabinet.
Meanwhile Nikhil Thapa (12) who was attacked by a leopard in Canal Road area on Sunday night is recovering in the Doon Hospital. Agriculture Minister Ganesh Joshi visited the hospital to see his condition. Few days ago, a four year old child was devoured by a leopard in Singhali village in Dehradun. Ends