Leopard attack: Two people killed, 4 injured in 15 days in Tamil Nadu's Pandalur

Nilgiris: Two people were killed and four were injured in the past 15 days in Bandalur Nilgiri district in a leopard attack and the road was blocked at Pandalur for 11 hours to catch the leopard in Gudalur constituency on Saturday night.

Yesterday evening, a leopard attacked and killed the three-year-old baby daughter of a migrant worker from Jharkhand state who was working in a tea garden.

Earlier on December 21, a tribal woman named Saritha died after a leopard attacked her. She was a resident of Pandalur in the Nilgiris district.

In the past 15 days, the area has witnessed a string of leopard attacks, resulting in four people being injured and two fatalities. The severity of the situation has led to heightened anxiety in the Pandalur area.

Local residents said that they would send their children to schools and colleges only if the forest department shoots or catches the leopard that attacked and killed local villagers.

The traders' association and the villagers organised a protest and declared a one-day bandh. The protest has now spilled over to the borders of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka.

As a consequence, traffic has come to a standstill at the borders of Kerala and Karnataka, with vehicles waiting to enter Tamil Nadu due to the ongoing demonstrations.

Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka Transport services were affected after public blocked the road on the Gudalur National Highway on Saturday night. Similarly, the road from Bandalur to Kallati in Kerala was affected for more than 11 hours as the migrant workers also staged a road blockade at more than five places.

Gudalur Legislative Assembly Member Pon Jayaseelan demanded compensation for the victims, and condemned forest department and called for a complete shutdown in Gudalur and Bandalur.

"A complete shutdown will be organised in the Gudalur and Bandalur areas today to condemn the forest department. Compensation should be provided to the victims," said Jayaseelan.

Locals alleged that the forest department did not take action initially to catch the leopard.

Jayaseelan along with the local villagers participated in the road blockade. However, after 11 hours, the police removed the agitators, which resulted in a scuffle between the police and the protestors.

Meanwhile, the traffic movement started on the Gudalur-Kerala Kallati road