Yashodhara Bangera
Daijiworld News Network-Mangaluru(RJP)
Mangaluru, Dec 14: People during the day hardly go out unless it is absolutely necessary. They have completely stopped venturing out after dusk. They are spending sleepless nights. All out of fear of a leopard on prowl.
This is the situation prevailing right now in the Paladka area of Moodbidri for the past one week.
The school children from the village of Kemar, Kadthimar do not want to go to school at all. The village has around 20 houses of people who are involved in farming activities.
On last Monday, two cows belonging to Sudhakar Poojary of Kemar, Kadthimar were attacked. One of them was killed in the attack and another was injured.
In another incident,a dog belonging to Hosamane Nellaka has been injured on its neck.
A Paladka resident Praveen has spotted a leopard while he was riding a bike.
Another resident has claimed that he has spotted two leopards on a rock in the village.
Sundar Naik from Kemar, Kadthimar has lost a dog to the leopard.
A leopard was said to have appeared at the house of Janaki on December 8. It appeared on the terrace of the house in the morning. Later it was driven away by the villagers.
Shankar has also lost some dogs to the leopard. Some leopard marks can be seen on the walls of his house.
Babu from Jodukatte has lost a cow and his neighbour Augustine's cow has been missing from December 11. The leopard has left its mark even on the place where the dead cow was buried. The marks on the soil confirms that it viisted the spot again.
The night vigil at the farms and the visits to the farms for irrigation purposes have been completely stopped now.
The terror of wild animals is not new in the area. But the recent news of leopard appearance has worsened the situation. And to make the matter worse, even wild pigs have been creating trouble at night.A local scribe has suffered some damages to his bike while he encountered the pigs.
Kinnigoli area had experienced the same terror three months back which was contained later with the aid of CCTV cameras.
"The leopard being spotted could be the mother of the leopard caught last year at Kallamandkur. We have taken measures to catch the leopard, especially with the help of the traps. More forest personnel will also be deployed. We are also filing report in time to speed up the compensation process." said B D Dinesh, area forest officer in Moodbidri speaking to the media.
A student has said that the teachers from the school have been dropping them home by car.
The residents have complained to all possible authorities to relieve them from the horror.