Rising man-animal conflict cause for worry in UP's Balrampur
Villagers in district afraid to send children to school, scared to work in fields
Balrampur (UP) (PTI): Two children have been killed and three others injured in the past one month in leopard attacks in UP's Balrampur and neighbouring districts, instilling fear in residents of around six dozen villages close to the Suhelwa forest area.
Earlier this week, 12-year-old Aman was killed by a leopard, just a few weeks after Roshni (5) lost her life the same way, sources say. Big cats have also killed over a dozen head of cattle.
Balrampur District Magistrate Mahendra Kumar said that the forest team has been directed to use drones to keep an eye on straying leopards and catch them. He also appealed to villagers not to leave their children alone but move in groups, especially during night, to mitigate any possibility of a leopard attack.
"Villagers are afraid to work in their fields. They are scared to send their children to schools," says Shamim Ahmed, a former head of Vishnupur Hatwa village.
Spread across 452 sq km, the forest area in Balrampur and neighboring Sravasti and Gonda is close to around six dozen villages.
MLA SP Yadav visited the area and heard woes of the locals. "Children are being killed by leopards. The issue has been raised in the Legislative Assembly on several occasions but the current government has not done anything to prevent it," Yadav alleges.
He says fencing near the villages may bring down the number of deaths.
Meanwhile, forest officials have started an operation to catch the leopards.
Forest Range Officer Koteshwar Tyagi told PTI, "We have set up cages and formed two teams to catch the leopards."
The locals alleged that efforts being made by forest officials to nab leopards have proved to be ineffective.
Dr Nagendra Singh, who has been overseeing conservation efforts in the forest area for over a decade, said the number of leopards has increased.
"Human interference in natural lives of leopards has also increased. This has led to a rise in man-animal conflict," he says.
"The situation may deteriorate," he warns if efforts are not made soon.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Four booked for tying 18-year-old to tree, beating him up in UP's Pratapgarh
Pratapgarh (UP) (PTI): Four people were booked here for the abduction and assault of a man who they allegedly tied to a tree and beat up, police said on Wednesday.
The incident, a video of which has gone viral, took place on Tuesday afternoon under the Kunda police station limits.
The FIR was registered on Wednesday evening based on a complaint from the victim's father.
According to Keshav Prasad Yadav, a resident of Mauli village, some people called his 18-year-old son Nikhil Yadav on the phone and asked him to come out of his house around 2.30 pm on Tuesday.
As he reached outside the village as instructed, the accused allegedly forced him into a car and took him towards the Tinpedwa forest area, where they tied him to a tree and assaulted, the complainant said.
The attackers also recorded a video of the incident and circulated it on social media. The purported video shows the men thrashing Nikhil one after another, while one of them is assumed to have recorded the act.
Kunda Station House Officer Manoj Pandey confirmed the incident and said efforts are underway to identify and arrest all the accused.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has shared the video on social media, describing the incident as reflective of a "dominant mindset" against the PDA (Pichda or Backward, Dalit, and Alpasankhyak or Minority), and demanded strict action against the accused.
_vb_80.png)
