Tighten boundaries

The people from villages as well as the Srinagar outskirts are living in a constant threat of leopards as the presence of man-eater animals has created a fear among the people, compelling them to stay indoors mostly from the past 14 days. The incident that has been reported from central Kashmir’s Budgam district has authenticated the reports about the presence of leopards in the habitations. Fortunately, after hectic efforts, the leopard that mauled a four-year-old girl to death in Budgam was captured alive after 12 days of search yesterday, giving a bit of relief to the people living in the surrounding areas. However, a four-year-old girl is also missing for the last 11 days from Pahalgam woods with people apprehending that she may have become another victim of leopards in Kashmir. As per the reports, the leopards have been spotted at many places. In the industrial area of Rangreth here, a leopard was spotted a few days back, creating fear among the masses. Therefore, in order to curtail such incidents, there is a need to take proactive steps to ensure that these incidents will come to an end at an earliest. The concerned wildlife department should consider taking steps to tighten the boundaries of nurseries and forest areas so that the appearance of these leopards in habitations will be prevented in the future and the precious lives of children as well as the elders could be saved well on time.