Leopard shortens midterm holidays for Belgaum schools

Belgaum forest officials have begun examining the footage of CCTVs near the golf course, the locals are on edge after sightings of a leopard. The wild cat was last seen lurking near the ground located at the double road, opposite the Vanita Vidyalaya High School.

In view of the threat posed by this misled creature, the DDPI Basavaraj Nalatwad decided to halt the offline lectures within 22 schools surrounding the area.

Addressing the state of the school curriculum, Dr. Nirmala Sunath, the Principal of Vanita Vidyalaya High School told the Free Press Journal, “We have resumed classes in an online mode. Still, the teachers are willing to fill up the gaps over the weekends. We plan to cover up the lost time during our October holidays too.”

Many students at the cantonment school live only a few steps away, traveling to school on foot each morning. Buses or autos seldom stop for such little distances. ”We can ensure the safety of our students within the premises of our school, but how do they reach here? The only way to ensure their safety was to keep our schools closed till the situation was taken care of.”

Prioritizing safety over other school activities, DDPI Basavaraj Nalatwad said, “We are still unclear as to when the schools can safely reopen, we will try to keep them closed till the leopard is caught.”

Adjacent to the city’s cantonment area grows a thick forest cover. “We speculate that the leopard entered the city from there,” said Jeetendra Nayak, division officer of Belgaum’s Forest Department.

On Tuesday, two elephants joined his team of professionals to follow the cat’s trail. “With tranquilizers and veterinary doctors, our team is all set to find the leopard and relocate it in Khanapur forests of the western ghats or a sanctuary surrounding Belgaum.”

With Ganesh Chaturthi drawing close, the city remains eager to send the big cat back to its home. Hanuman Nagar and Sahyadri Nagar, both lying in the vicinity of leopard sightings, are likely to gather large crowds during the festival.