Bengaluru: Tension prevailed among those residing near the forest fringes in South East Bengaluru until Wednesday after the forest officials and the BBMP rescue volunteers called off their search, which was undertaken after some residents spotted leopards at two different places on Tuesday night. While one was spotted at Nallurahalli Park by some labourers in the evening, the other one was allegedly spotted near Vibgyor School on Tuesday night.
The Forest Department officials along with the BBMP rescue volunteers continued to comb the two regions to trace the big cats, but in vain assuming that it could be rumours.
Hundreds of residents of two township apartments built on the fringes of the Thubarahalli village near the Vibgyor School checked on their balcony doors and window locks twice before they retired to bed on late Tuesday night. “Around 8:30 pm on Tuesday, few residents around the apartment complex raised an alarm stating they heard the roar of a leopard. Panicked residents started alerting each other using Whatsapp and text messages. The residents also set fire to a eucalyptus grove nearby to scare away the animal,” said Manindra, a resident and a software professional. “The forest department officials were informed who rushed to the spot after they called for police backup. An ambulance too was called to the spot,” he added.
“Our men started inquiring the villagers and the apartment residents, but none gave a definite answer regarding the spotting of the leopard. Our staff was there until 2:30 a.m. in the morning after which they called and apprised me as to ‘no confirmation on any leopard’s presence in the said area’, and we called off the search operation,” said Dr Ravi Ralph, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife).
Residents around a temple in Nallurahalli Park claimed to have spotted a leopard on Tuesday evening. The labourers living at shanties claimed to have spotted a leopard at a eucalyptus grove nearby and alerted the caretaker of the temple. The caretaker then informed the forest department who rushed to the spot along with the rescue volunteers. The forest department staff had requested the police for backup and crowd management.
“We only heard from the labourers that they spotted a leopard and they were also telling that there were two of them, but we haven’t seen them,” said Srinivas Reddy, a local resident in Nallurahalli Park. The leopard was claimed to have been spotted within one kilometre from the Whitefield police station,” Reddy added. Forest department officials also visited the spot in the morning to take the stock of the situation and reassured the residents.
75 schools to remain closed today
Nearly 75 private schools in Marathahalli under East Bengaluru zone, including Vibgyor High and 53 government schools, have announced holiday on Thursday following fear of reported presence of leopard in the area.
According to the DPI officials the holiday was announced as a precautionary measure by the government and private school managements. “These schools have been directed to compensate the holiday by working for full day for two consecutive Saturdays,” a senior DPI officer said. “It is a precautionary measure. Once forest department clears all the doubts, the schools will reopen,” he added.
According to the parents of different private schools from Whitefield, Marathahalli, Kundalahalli, they have already received text messages in this regard from the school.
Renowned environmentalist, tiger conservationist, and scientist, Sanjay Gubbi was discharged from Columbia Asia Hospital on Old Airport Road and admitted to Excel-Care Hospital in Banashankari
Gubbi recovering
Renowned environmentalist, tiger conservationist, and scientist, Sanjay Gubbi was discharged from Columbia Asia Hospital on Old Airport Road and admitted to Excel-Care Hospital in Banashankari as it would be closer to his house in South Bengaluru. Gubbi was recuperating well and continues to be under medical supervision. His condition is said to be improving
