Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said the state government has taken up the issue of rising leopard attacks with the Centre and is considering sterilisation and relocation measures to control their growing population in Pune and nearby districts.
Speaking to reporters, Fadnavis said that during a meeting at Mantralaya, discussions were held about shifting some leopards from Shirur, Junnar, Khed and Ambegaon tehsils in Pune district to rescue centres.
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Senior officials and former home minister Dilip Walse Patil attended the meeting.
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"Leopard attacks have caused loss of lives in the Pune district. There are around 1,300 leopards in Pune and Ahilyanagar districts. We have held preliminary discussions with the Union government and will soon hold detailed talks with the minister concerned. We are also considering a sterilisation programme for leopards, for which we will seek approval from the Union government," the chief minister said.
Forest authorities on Tuesday captured a leopard believed to have killed three persons in Shirur tehsil of Pune district in the past few weeks.
State Forest Minister Ganesh Naik, who chaired a separate meeting on the matter, said the government has decided to relocate several leopards from the Junnar region to other states and Vantara, the zoological rescue and rehabilitation centre in Gujarat's Jamnagar.
"There is a proposal to send some leopards to Vantara and other states where the forest departments have expressed interest. The man-eater leopard (captured from Shirur) is likely to be shifted to Vantara. A meeting with the Union government will be held soon to finalise the relocation process," he said.
Immediate steps will be taken in Junnar and nearby regions, including increasing the number of cages and implementing other precautionary measures, he added.
The minister also directed officials not to take coercive action against villagers in connection with the recent incident of vandalism at a forest office and the torching of a jeep.
Meanwhile, villagers from the Junnar region expressed strong displeasure over the relocation plan.
"The government says it will send the leopards to Vantara or other states, but how can we be sure? Out of 1,200 leopards, how many will they actually send — only 100? Who will prove that the rest have been relocated? We do not trust these assurances," a villager told a regional news channel.
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