Three-year-old Ayush Kiran Bhagat died in a leopard attack in Vadner Dumala ten days ago. However, as the forest department still failed to catch the leopard, angry villagers staged a strong protest in front of the forest department office in Untwadi on Wednesday.
Protesters demand Chief Conservator of Forests G. Mallikarjun to capture the leopard within a week |
They demanded permission from Chief Conservator of Forests G. Mallikarjun to capture the leopard within a week, else the villagers will need to intervene for its confiscation. After this incident took place in Vadner Dumala on August 8, the forest department installed 21 cages in Panchkroshi.
However, a video of a leopard dragging a goat from a cage and climbing on the same cage went viral on August 14, causing intense anger among the villagers. The villagers alleged that the forest department failed to catch the leopard even after installing the cage.
Against this backdrop, on Wednesday (August 20), the villagers took out a march on foot from Vadner Dumala to the West Forest Department office in Untwadi. |
Against this backdrop, on Wednesday (August 20), the villagers took out a march on foot from Vadner Dumala to the West Forest Department office in Untwadi. Around 1500 villagers participated in this march. Women participated significantly in this.
The march reached the forest office at 1 pm. MNS divisional general secretary Dinkar Patil, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) faction Vasant Gite, Datta Gaikwad, along with former corporator Keshav Porje, took a stand here.
'Who will tie Rakhi to my brother?'
The protesters raised slogans like, "One life was lost due to the negligence of the forest department, catch the leopard, save people's lives, we lost one AYUSH, we don't want to lose another AYUSH."
On Wednesday (August 20), the villagers took out a march on foot from Vadner Dumala to the West Forest Department office in Untwadi. |
At this time, Chief Conservator of Forests G. Mallikarjun and Deputy Conservator of Forests Siddesh Savardekar discussed with the delegation. At this time, Patil and Gite sought permission to trap or kill the leopard.
Shreya, the 5-year-old sister of the deceased Ayush, asked the question, "Who will tie Rakhi to my brother now?" Tears welled up in the eyes of the attendees as soon as she asked. The police had made heavy security arrangements during the march.
Will catch the leopard in 7 days
The Chief Conservator of Forests said that two teams have been called from Nanded and Ahilyanagar to catch the leopard. But the protesters were in no mood to listen. They were adamant about how many days it would take to catch the leopard. After that, the protesters were satisfied when the forest conservator Siddesh Savardekar assured them that the leopard would be caught in the next 7 days.
"On August 14, the leopard killed the goat in the cage, but it did not get stuck in the cage. Due to this, the villagers are losing patience. The leopard should be caught in seven days; otherwise, a resolution will be taken in the gram panchayat on the eighth day, and further decisions will be taken," the villagers have warned.
