Leopard causes panic in Thane

THANE: The sighting of an adult leopard led to panic in Ramnagar and Lokmanya Nagar settlements at the Yeoor hills here on Wednesday.

After residents reported the straying of the leopard into the locality from the woods, officials from the Sanjay Gandhi National Park arrived at the spot and searched the area for pugmarks. The search operation continued till late on Wednesday, but the leopard was not sighted.

Though the area is a protected forest, slums have encroached on forest property and have been provided with facilities like public transport, roads, water supply and electricity connection.

“We have been conducting awareness camps in these pockets and had asked locals to report any leopard spotting,” Sandeep Yalgar, a forest official, said. “We received a call from the Ramnagar area and personnel from the Bachao Kruti Dal rushed to the aid of the residents here.”

Yalgar said the forest team would keep up the search for a couple of days.

The densely-populated slum settlements in Lokmanya Nagar locality of Wagle Estate often see leopards.

Recently, a cub had strayed from the forest and died after accidently falling into an abandoned well in the area.

Locals are extremely cautious about moving about in the area after dark.

Over the last decade, the Yeoor hills, the area along Ghodbunder Road and the forest area in Kolshet have seen encroachments by slums and multi-storey towers.