No sign of leopard at Ajnara society; forest dept to end search on Saturday

The four trap cages, near the basement exits, and five trap cameras will be stationed there for a few more days. Additional safety arrangements are also being made to ensure that residents don’t face any problems

Four days after they started a search for a leopard at the Ajnara Le Garden society in Greater Noida West, forest department officials on Friday said they would end the operation by Saturday if the animal is not found.

Forest and fire department officials search for the leopard at Ajnara Le Garden Society in Greater Noida on Friday. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

A leopard was sighted at the society by residents as well as guards, who reported the sighting to the forest department, which launched a search operation with seven teams, including those from Agra, Meerut and Ghaziabad.

The society has 17 towers, of which six are still under construction. The forest department obtained a hydraulic platform from the fire department to see the upper floors of the towers. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

The latest leopard sighting comes on the heels of another sighting of a big cat just a week ago on December 27 at the same society, forest officials said. During the search operation, the forest department teams also reported seeing the animal in the basement, though it could not be caught.

The society has 17 towers, of which six are still under construction along with some of the common facilities. There are about 1,500 families living there. Residents said there is fear among people who have stopped going out unless absolutely necessary and delivery services are also being allowed only till the main gate.

Officials said even after four days of intensive searching, there has not been any success in finding and apprehending the big cat. So, after reviewing the situation on Saturday morning, the search operation will be called off.

“We searched with teams for four whole days but have not found any physical or other evidence of the leopard. There is nothing in the trap cages or the trap cameras that were set up. We conducted an intensive combing operation in the basement on Friday morning but couldn’t find the animal. We will review the situation on Saturday morning and may be call off the operation,” said PK Srivastava, divisional forest officer, Gautam Budh Nagar.

However, the four trap cages, near the basement exits, and five trap cameras will be stationed there for a few more days. Additional safety arrangements are also being made to ensure that residents don’t face any problems.

Officials will barricade the inhabited areas to avoid any sudden animal-human encounter, Srivastava said.

“We have spoken to the builder and the basement area where the leopard was spotted will be completely barricaded and cordoned off as an additional precaution for . A team will also be deployed there for the next few days, till all safety arrangements are made,” said Srivastava.