Hamirpur (HP), August 28 (PTI) A series of leopard sightings across parts of Himachal Pradesh’s Hamirpur district has once again triggered apprehension among residents, with locals alleging that repeated appeals to the forest department has not yielded any concrete action.
However, forest officials said they have received complaints regarding leopard sightings and a team would visit affected areas to assess the situation.
In the most recent encounter, a leopard was spotted in broad daylight by a road in Kashmir gram panchayat area of Nadaun sub-division in the district.
The leopard allegedly attempted to approach children who were on their way to school, triggering panic among locals.
Villagers raised an alarm and drove the animal away, allowing the children a narrow escape. Rajesh Kumar, a local, said on Friday that the leopard has already preyed on several dogs and goats in the area.
Although villagers have repeatedly informed the forest department, they said no concrete steps have been taken to capture the animal so far.
Villagers are extremely concerned and have urged the forest department to install a cage to capture the leopard immediately.
Forest official Shama Kumari said the department has been informed of the incident and a team will visit the village to assess the situation, and if the leopard’s presence is confirmed, a cage would be installed for its capture.
Notably, Kashmir village recently suffered the brunt of heavy rainfall, causing widespread damage to crops and houses due to high water levels in the Maan Khad stream flowing through the area.
Earlier, leopards were sighted in Karha area of Ladraur gram panchayat and in areas of Bhoranj, Sujanpur, Barsar and Hamirpur assembly constituencies in the district. PTI COR BPL ARB ARB
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.