NTPC Dadri on alert after claims of leopard spotting

According to NTPC officials, some locals claimed to have spotted pug marks but it was unclear which animal made the marks.

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) team was put on alert and forest department officials were called in on Wednesday after some locals claimed to have spotted a leopard in the forest area of NTPC Dadri, officials said.

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) team was put on alert and forest department officials were called in on Wednesday after some locals claimed to have spotted a leopard in the forest area of NTPC Dadri,(Photo by Parveen Kumar/Hindustan Times)

According to NTPC officials, some locals claimed to have spotted pug marks but it was unclear which animal made the marks.

“So far it’s just a speculation but the CISF’s quick response team is on alert. There was also a video which was circulated among NTPC officials, but we did not spot any leopard in it. The NTPC campus is very large and is spread over an area of 2,600 hectare. We also have forest patches within the campus, but so far the presence of a leopard is not confirmed,” said Pankaj Saxena, spokesperson, NTPC, Dadri.

According to forest officials, they spotted some pug marks but it was not clear whether they belonged to a leopard. The forest area of the NTPC Dadri was also patrolled and so far the presence of leopard could not be established, they said.

In 2015, a leopard, which had taken shelter in the forest area of the NTPC campus in Dadri, was rescued by the forest department. In another incident, a leopard was rescued from Greater Noida’s Ecotech-3 area in January this year and later released to in the wild in Shivalik range in district Saharanpur.