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Leopards’ attacks: Fear drives villagers in U.P.’s Bijnor to move in groups
Residents of over two dozen villages in Bijnor, India, are living in fear as leopard attacks have resulted in 13 deaths over the past seven months. Farmer organisations are demanding a solution to the problem, with leopards injuring over 60 people during the same period. The fear has led to residents moving in groups for protection, with children also attending school in groups. Activists from the Bharatiya Kisan Union are staging protests demanding the elimination of the leopards or permission to kill them. Forest officials have formed teams and are using drones and trap cameras to track the leopards.
Living in constant fear amid growing attacks of leopards in which 13 people have lost their lives in the past over 7 months, residents of over two dozen villages in Bijnor district have started moving in groups now even as Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU)’s ‘Guldar Mukt Bijnor’ (leopard free Bijnor) protest continues.
Finding no respite from the prevailing danger, farmer organisations have come out on the roads demanding immediate solution to the problem to protect people. Virendra Singh of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Tikait) claims that fear looms over more than 30 villages of the district where movement of leopards is frequent. He claims that the big cats have also injured over 60 people in the past seven months.
“Those attacked were either farmers or their family members,” claimed Singh. As per Sandeep Tyagi, media incharge of BKU in Bijnor, collecting fodder has became a risky affair as leopards killed and injured many farmers and their family members when they were collecting fodder for their livestock.
He further said people have stopped going outside after evening and farmers go to their field with family members who guard them while they collect fodder. As per Virendra Singh, selling milk is a major source of additional income for farmers and hence fodder is a must commodity for them.
Meanwhile, school-going children also have started moving into groups. Singh said earlier many students used to go schools on scooties and cycles but scared parents have now directed them to go in groups only. He further said other villagers also prefer going to their fields in groups, markets and other places.
Digambar Singh, the state president of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Arajnaitik) youth wing, claims that Bijnor district has more than 300 leopards who roam freely across the district.
“The elusive animals have the ability to ambush its prey and after eating human flesh, they have started targeting them as an easy prey,” said Digamber Singh who demanded delisting the big cat from the schedule list of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, at least in Bijnor so that these violent animals could be easily eliminated.
Leopard is in the schedule list of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and its killing is a punishable offence. Leaders and activists of BKU(Tikait) have been staging a dharna inside the collectorate in Bijnor for the last three days under their ‘Guldar Mukt Bijnor’ (leopard free Bijnor) .
Sandeep Tyagi said their demand is either to eliminate the violent animals or give them the permission to kill them. BKU state general secretary Ramotar Singh said the forest department should catch the leopards immediately.
BKU leader Dr Vijay Chowdhary said if the administration did not catch these leopards soon, farmers from the village along with their animals would camp at the district headquarters.
On the other hand, principal chief conservator of forest SK Sharma, along with other senior forest officials, is camping in the district to monitor the ongoing operation against the leopards.
The forest officials have formed 12 teams which have been manned at different sensitive locations. Drones, trap cameras and other search equipment are being used to trace the leopards but to no avail so far. A team of Wildlife Institute of India is also assisting these officials in understanding the behaviour of leopards.
