Gopeshwar, Oct 13 (PTI) Five members of a family were injured in an early morning bear attack in Joshimath town of Uttarakhand on Tuesday, forest department officials said.
A woman who stepped out of her house around 3 am on hearing a cow’s distress call was attacked first, and subsequently four of her family members who came to help her also came under attack, they said.
The bear attack took place in the Singhdhar area of Joshimath in Chamoli district, which falls under the Nanda Devi National Park forest division.
The injured were initially treated at the Joshimath government hospital and subsequently referred to government hospitals in Gopeshwar and Karnaprayag for further treatment.
Suman Bharti, the sub-divisional forest officer (SDFO) of the national park, told PTI that the incident happened when the bear attacked a cow near the victims’ house.
Hearing the cow’s sound, the woman, Dhumna Devi, went outside her house and came face-to-face with the bear, which attacked her. Her three sons and a daughter rushed to help her and were also attacked by the animal.
Dhumna Devi and two of her sons, Dharmesh and Omprakash, have sustained minor injuries, while another son, Bindesh and daughter Santoshi suffered severe injuries.
Bharti said the forest department is overseeing the medical treatment of the injured. The most seriously injured person is being treated in Karnaprayag, while the others have been taken to the Gopeshwar District Hospital. The division has provided financial assistance of Rs 15,000 to the injured.
She said a forest department patrol team has been deployed in the area as a precautionary measure, and a cage is being set up to capture the bear. A ward-wise awareness campaign regarding safety measures will be conducted at potential hotspots across the town.
Man-animal conflict with regard to bears has been increasing in the border town of Joshimath over the past decade, and the animals are especially seen to be looking for garbage disposal sites in search of food scraps.
Bharti added that bears frequently venture into farms, drawn by crops like mandua (finger millet), pulses, and other food they like. PTI COR SPY SPY SKY
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