Maharashtra MLA dressed as leopard
NEW DELHI: A Maharastra MLA on Wednesday chose a unique way to present his stance in the state legislative assembly. Sharad Sonawane, the MLA from Junnar, arrived at the Maharashtra legislature dressed in a leopard-print outfit to protest the rising number of leopard-related incidents across the state.His demonstration came hours after a leopard in Nagpur’s Pardi area injured seven people before being captured by the forest department. On being asked by reporter about his dress-up, Sonawane said, “An emergency should be declared for leopard attacks in the state. I have been raising this issue since 2014, but the government has kept ignoring me.”Further offering suggestions to deal with the issue, he added, “Rescue centres should be made, and the leopards should be trapped and kept in the centres…” At Vidhan Bhavan, the Shiv Sena legislator said leopard attacks had claimed 55 lives in Junnar taluka of Pune district in the past three months. He said residents were living in constant fear and urged the state to set up rescue facilities capable of accommodating up to 2,000 leopards in both Junnar taluka and Ahilyanagar district.Additionally, responding to Forest Minister Ganesh Naik’s statement a day earlier that goats would be released in forests to divert leopards, Sonawane said the measure would not work, arguing that leopards increasingly occupy sugarcane fields and areas near human habitation.He demanded that the government declare a “state emergency” and initiate the capture of at least 2,000 leopards for placement in rescue centres.
