Leopards are terrifying three districts in Maharashtra, prompting people to wear collars with sharp spikes to protect their lives.

News Topical, Digital Desk : Leopards have made sugarcane fields in three Maharashtra districts: Pune, Nashik, and Ahilyanagar their sanctuary. The large number of leopards living in these fields has become a source of fear and distress for local villagers. To protect themselves from the leopards, people are forced to wear collars with sharp spikes around their necks.

Pune, Nashik, and Ahilyanagar are known for sugarcane cultivation. Thousands of hectares of sugarcane are cultivated in these districts, contributing to their prosperity. However, these same sugarcane fields have become a source of fear and distress for the villagers, as over 350 leopard attacks have occurred in these areas in the past five years, resulting in the deaths of over 170 people. 70 of these attacks occurred in Pune alone.

In the past three months alone, 14 people have been killed in leopard attacks in the three districts mentioned above. These incidents have raised the government's concern. Consequently, the state government has decided to spend ₹11 crore to address this problem.

Forest department officials say leopards have been living in sugarcane fields spread over thousands of hectares in Pune, Nashik, and Ahilyanagar for three generations. They have now forgotten the forests. The sugarcane fields and the rivers and canals flowing through them provide an excellent environment for them to thrive.

Since they have come to consider these fields as their sanctuary, whenever anyone approaches them or sugarcane harvesting begins, they attack the farmers, considering it an encroachment on their territory. The total number of leopards in Maharashtra is estimated to be 3,800. An accurate estimate of their numbers in the fields has not yet been established.

However, in light of this menace, the government has decided to take several important steps. To curb the growing leopard population, the state government has obtained special permission from the central government to sterilize them. The process of capturing man-eating leopards and housing them at the Manik Doh Rescue Center in Junnar taluka, Pune, has begun. Orders have also been issued to shoot some dangerous leopards directly.

The Forest Department has installed 200 cages in the affected areas and is planning to purchase another 1,000. Since leopards often grab humans by the neck, the government is distributing collars with sharp spikes. Most people are seen wearing these collars even during the day, so that the leopards don't fear the spikes and attack.

Weapons like tridents mounted on long poles and flashlights are also being distributed to villagers. CCTV cameras equipped with AI technology have been installed, which sound a loud siren whenever a leopard is captured, alerting people.

Read More: Chhattisgarh: Five people died in a collision between a truck and a Scorpio in Janjgir-Champa, including two army soldiers.