New Delhi, 7 January
Residents of a residential complex in Greater Noida are living in constant fear and panic following the release of a leopard earlier this week.
The leopard was first spotted at the construction site of the Ajnalal Garden Society on January 3, and Forest Service teams have attempted to capture it ever since.
The team reached the location after a video of the animal surfaced online.
Several teams from other districts, including special rangers, have conducted search and rescue operations for the large cat, but to no avail.
With claims that the leopard was being watched by people along with the video, officials want to see if the leopard is still lurking on the property.
Meerut and Agra forestry department teams and other officials are camped at the association with the same purpose.
Poultry and goats are left as food for capture, and large cages are also set up on the property. In addition to this, the team also set up nets to catch the leopards.
A team of more than 40 Forest Service officers and employees has been involved in this work.
District Forest Officer (DFO) Pramod Kumar said cameras and camera traps have been installed in the area. He said the animal had not been sighted again, so it was important to confirm its presence at the location.
Kumar said the team had been working continuously to save the big cat, but had faced difficulties due to its extensive range.
A team of 70 people from the Forest Service conducted a search operation at the tower under construction on Friday morning.
Police officers are also stationed in the community to prevent people from entering the area.
The DFO said a 42-meter-tall hydraulic platform to monitor animals had been arranged by the fire department after it failed to achieve success using drones.
Many societies around the world have issued advisories regarding the presence of wild animals, instructing residents to be very careful and not to go outside unnecessarily.
Nikhil Shukla, a resident of the Ajnara Society, said he had never felt so unsafe in all his years of living there.
Shukla fears animals will attack him when he comes down from his 21st floor home to go to his office.
He added that it feels like a lockdown period during the Covid pandemic as none of the residents of the society are out.
This is not the first time a leopard has been sighted within the district. — IANS
Residents protest against forest department
Residents of the Greater Noida West Adjunal Garden Society protested the Forest Service and builders after a leopard was sighted on the association’s property. They demanded that officials remain on the premises until the leopard was captured.
