Representative file image: special arrangement
Residents of the Greater Noida (western) housing community where the leopard was spotted are staying indoors, avoiding trips to local stores for daily necessities after the cat was spotted again Wednesday morning. continue.
The Forest Department here said it has been conducting search and rescue operations for the second day in a row at Ajnara Le Garden in Sector 16 of Greater Noida (West), also known as Noida Extension.
“Obviously people are very concerned about their safety,” said Mukesh Gupta, who lives with her family on the 15th floor. PTI.
Gupta’s wife was among those who claimed to have seen the cat roaming the area on Wednesday morning.
“My wife saw a leopard in action in the social circle on Wednesday morning. It was a little foggy when we noticed it near the pool,” Gupta said.
Tuesday’s leopard sighting sparked panic among residents of the apartment complex.
Experts from Meerut, Agra and Ghaziabad also participated in the operation, officials said, while a team from Gautam Buddh Nagar’s forestry department rushed to the scene.
Foresters had a showdown with the leopard late Tuesday night to confirm its presence in society, the official added.
The association had issued a similar leopard warning a week earlier, but on December 27, its maintenance department notified residents of a suspected cat on the premises and urged them not to go outside.
“We are continuing to search for leopards. We have also hired teams from Agra and Meerut,” said Pramod Kumar Srivastava, a forest officer in the department that oversees rescue operations. PTI.
Officials said a total of seven teams were at the scene, including four from the local forestry department.
By noon Wednesday, rescuers had blocked all exits in the basement of a residential tower under construction where the cat was believed to be stranded, officials said.
The association has about 16 residential towers, of which 5-6 are under construction. The leopard was found in one of his basements in the tower under construction on Tuesday. A few blurry pictures of the animals also surfaced, according to association residents.
Association officials issued a one-line message on Tuesday urging residents to stay indoors and take precautions after a leopard was spotted on the property.
