Pauri, May 25 (PTI): Angry villagers blocked the Srinagar-Pauri highway at Khandah for three hours on Monday to protest against the forest department following frequent leopard attacks in Uttarakhand’s Pauri district.
The protest started at 10 am and disrupted vehicular movement. Essential services like ambulances were exempted from the blockade.
Expressing fear for their safety, the villagers alleged that the forest department failed to take concrete action despite rising leopard attacks.
Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Garhwal Forest Division, Mahatim Yadav, reached the spot after receiving information about the protest and pacified the protestors to clear the traffic.
The region has seen a rise in leopard-related incidents recently. A leopard attacked a woman in Auni village on Sunday evening. The woman survived after her husband chased the animal away by throwing stones, though she sustained injuries.
Earlier, a leopard killed a 60-year-old man in Kamand village of Pauri block on May 15 while he was collecting fodder for his cattle.
In another incident on May 9, two leopards were spotted near the campus of a government primary school in Ekeshwar block during the morning assembly.
Yadav assured the villagers that official and local hunters would deploy in the area to eliminate the leopard. The forest department also increased patrolling in the region.
“The department has installed nearly 30 cameras, including four solar cameras, in the area. We have also increased the number of cages to eight,” Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) Aisha Bisht told PTI.
The villagers warned that they would intensify their agitation if the authorities failed to take prompt and effective action. PTI DPT AKY AKY SKY SKY
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