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Bichhiya (Bahraich), April 9 (UNI) Panic has gripped villages in the Katarniaghat Wildlife Division as incidents of leopard attacks show no sign of slowing down. Two separate attacks reported this week have left several villagers seriously injured, intensifying fear in the region, officials said on Thursday. The first incident took place late Tuesday night in Kutiya village under Rampurwa Gram Panchayat in the Nishangada range. A leopard entered the house of a villager, Indal Sahani, around 11 PM and killed a goat tied in the courtyard by severing its head. Hearing the noise, Sahani rushed outside and attempted to drive the animal away. However, the leopard attacked him, leading to a fierce struggle that lasted nearly four minutes. Family members and nearby villagers rushed to the spot after hearing his cries, prompting the leopard to flee towards nearby fields. Sahani sustained severe injuries to his abdomen, back, and legs. He was initially treated in the village and later admitted to the Primary Health Centre in Sujauli. In another incident on Wednesday afternoon, a young woman named Vinita Kumari was attacked by a leopard in Bankati village under the Sujauli range while she was cutting grass. The leopard fled after other women accompanying her raised an alarm. Vinita suffered injuries to her leg and back and was also admitted to the Sujauli Primary Health Centre. Forest officials admitted delays in response to the second incident. Ranger Rohit Kumar stated that the information about the attack did not reach authorities in time, preventing immediate action. Divisional Forest Officer Apoorv Dixit said that patrolling in the affected villages has been intensified. With repeated attacks, fear continues to grow among residents. Villagers have begun keeping night vigils and are demanding the forest department install cages to capture the leopard and ensure stronger safety measures in the area.

Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], July 4 (ANI): Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel urged newly elected sarpanchs and gram panchayat members to ensure visible cleanliness in villages. He announced that under PM Narendra Modi's vision of "Swachhta Tya Prabhuta (Cleanliness is next to Godliness)," a mass movement for cleanliness has been launched across villages, towns, and cities. Also Read | PM Narendra Modi Conferred With 'The Order of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago' During Ceremonial Event at President's House in Port of Spain (See Pics and Videos). In this context, the Chief Minister made a s ...Read More >

Bengaluru: Concerns have been raised following the report of another tigress' death in Karnataka on Saturday, coming close on the heels of the shocking incident involving the death of a tigress and her four cubs. According to forest officials, the latest death has been reported from the Gundre Forest Range in Bandipur, located in Chamarajanagar district. Authorities, based on preliminary investigation, have stated that the tigress, estimated to be between 4 and 5 years old, appears to have died of natural causes. However, the post-mortem report is awaited for confirmation. The carcass was d ...Read More >

New Delhi, Aug 28 (PTI) India's gains from importing discounted Russian oil are estimated to be just USD 2.5 billion per annum, significantly lower than the previously speculated range of USD 10-25 billion, a research report said on Thursday. Stopping Russian oil imports would force India, the world's third-largest oil importer and consumer, to rely on limited alternatives, potentially driving global crude prices up to USD 100 per barrel amid rising demand and tight supply. "Benefit from Russian oil imports is way less than exaggerated media numbers," brokerage CLSA said in a report. While ...Read More >

Bengaluru: In an incident of concern, the unnatural death of a tigress and her three cubs, probably due to poisoning, came to light in the Male Mahadeshwara Hills Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka's Chamarajanagar district on Thursday. Addressing media persons in Bengaluru, Forests, Ecology, and Environment Minister Eshwar Khandre announced that an investigation has been ordered into the incident and officials have been directed to submit a detailed report within three days. The probe will be conducted by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF). "Karnataka stands second in the count ...Read More >

Balasore (Odisha) [India], July 18 (ANI): Forest officials in the Similipal South division of Odisha arrested seven persons for their alleged involvement in a leopard skin trafficking racket, the Office of DIG of Police, Eastern Range, Balasore, said on Friday. The accused were found to be in possession of three leopard skins, which were seized by the investigating team. The investigation revealed that the leopard skins were being kept at the homes of the accused for worship, with the belief that it would bring them wealth. The seized skins are currently undergoing forensic analysis to deter ...Read More >
MADURAI: Likening the custodial murder of Ajith Kumar in Tiruppuvanam to an 'organised crime by police where the state kills its own citizens,' Madras high court lambasted the Tamil Nadu police and said the action against the perpetrators should be more stringent than in normal murder cases.A division bench of Justice S M Subramaniam and Justice A D Maria Clete pointed to 44 external injuries on the person of Ajith Kumar and said no part of the body was spared by the delinquent cops. "Even an ordinary murderer would not have inflicted such kind of injuries," the bench said on Tuesday.The natur ...Read More >

RANCHI: Tiger pugmarks found on the very first day of the tiger census have lent significant weight to forest officials' claims about the presence of big cats in the Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR). The census began across Jharkhand on December 15. According to officials, it is being carried out across 31 territorial forest divisions and five protected wildlife divisions in the state, including major conservation areas such as the Palamu Tiger Reserve and the Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary. The exercise is part of a nationwide wildlife enumeration programme conducted once every four years to generate a ...Read More >

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has asserted that the Telangana Government is firm on ensuring that the schemes launched by the Government do not remain as mere entries on paper, but "bring about a tangible and distinct transformation in the lives of the people". The Government had accordingly launched the 99-day Prajapati Palana - Pragati Pranalika from March 6 to reach out to people, said Mr. Reddy, noting that it was launched with the coordination of all Government departments extended from t ...Read More >
Madikeri: Kushalnagar municipality has started the treatment of legacy waste, marking a significant step towards clearing the long-standing waste accumulation in Bhuvanagiri.The municipality waste processing facility in Bhuvanagiri village under Kudige gram panchayat is witnessing substantial progress in various projects under the Swachh Bharat Mission, including essential legacy waste treatment operations. Following the completion of tender procedures, the project received approval with a budget of Rs 3.50 crore. The facility, which was overwhelmed with waste for 15 years, posed health risks ...Read More >

Shimla: As rains wreaked havoc in Himachal Pradesh on Thursday, officials said flash floods in River Ravi have washed away several government buildings at the remote Bada Bangal village in Kangra district. However, no loss of life has been reported, they said. "A primary and high school, the panchayat ghar, an ayurvedic dispensary and a civil supplies store that housed about 70 quintals of ration were washed away in lower Bada Bangal on Tuesday. The village has been cut off from the rest of the state as two bridges were also swept away," Baijnath Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Sankalp Gauta ...Read More >

KURNOOL: Once feared as one of the ferocious predators roaming the hill tracts of Rayalaseema, wolves appear to have vanished from across Andhra Pradesh. Sources in the Forest department reveal that there have been no sightings or evidence of wolves in any district of AP for over a decade and a half. The department had carried out intense surveillance and deployed special teams in select forest zones. But there has been no trace of the elusive carnivore. Traditionally, wolves have thrived in the forest landscapes of Lankamala, Nallamala, and Seshachalam, as well as the scrub forests of Anant ...Read More >
Bengaluru: Forest minister Eshwar Khandre's decision to initiate a departmental inquiry into the recent unnatural death of a leopard in the MM Hills wildlife sanctuary has triggered hopes among conservationists and wildlife enthusiasts about uncovering the truth behind such incidents.In the most recent case, the carcass of the big cat was found mutilated last month.Recollecting similar incidents in the past few years, the activists suspect an organised nexus of poachers could be behind such wildlife crime.A few days before the June 26 death of five tigers in the Hoogyam forest range of MM Hill ...Read More >

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], September 26 (ANI): Uttar Pradesh villages are no longer just hoping for change -- they are becoming living examples of it. During a virtual interaction with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath as part of the Viksit UP@2047 dialogue series on Friday, Gram Pradhans shared that the development witnessed over the past eight years, which was once only a dream, has now become a reality, energizing and inspiring every village, a release said. Shivkumar Rajbhar, head of Gram Panchayat Tadwa Mahant in the Ikauna block of Shrawasti district, expressed that the entire villag ...Read More >
RANCHI/SILLI/PURULIA/KOLKATA: "Bhagwan Krishna ne aaj bacha liya (Lord Krishna has saved us today)," said farmer Puran Chand Mahto (55) of Mardu village in Ranchi district's Silli block, still unable to believe his luck at being alive to tell the tale of how he and his family - his three daughters and a relative, who is a minor - slept peacefully while a tiger silently crouched in a corner of the same room.Around 4.30am Wednesday, Puran was getting ready for the day. As he stepped out of his thre ...Read More >
Udhagamandalam: An injured leopard that was spotted roaming near human habitats within the Bitherkad range of the Gudalur forest division in the Nilgiris was captured by the forest department on Tuesday.The department had received several reports of leopard sighting, in and around Ayyankolli, Narikolli, and the Valadu Maha Vishnu temple. A search operation was initiated based on the alerts.A cage trap was strategically placed in the area, following the directives of the principal chief conservator of forests and the chief wildlife warden of Tamil Nadu," said Ravi, a forest range officer (FRO). ...Read More >

Raipur: Dhudmaras, the picturesque tribal hamlet nestled in the wooded hills of Kanger Valley National Park in Chhattisgarh, has become the first fully solar powered village in Bastar. The village, which has recently been recognized as the 20 top global villages by the United Nations World Tourism Organization, is now powered by solar energy lighting the streetlights and the lanes of the hamlet by the Chhattisgarh Renewable Energy Development Agency (CREDA). Three solar energy powered dual pumps, installed in the village, provide safe drinking water. Two solar high-mast towers flood light i ...Read More >

Jaipur, Jul 19 (PTI) A gang, allegedly involved in the adulteration of coal imported from the US, was busted by the Rajasthan Police, leading to the arrest of an individual, a senior official said on Saturday. The gang was adulterating high-quality coal (petcoke) imported from the US, cheating cement and steel factories out of crores of rupees through this illegal operation, Additional Director General of Police (Crime) Dinesh MN said. A team from the Crime Investigation Branch had been gathering intelligence about the theft of petcoke for some time. They were told by informants about several ...Read More >

HYDERABAD: A leopard that had villagers from Veerannapet in Mahabubnagar district, and forest department officials on tenterhooks since July, was finally trapped on Monday. District forest officer S. Satyanarayana said the three month effort of regular monitoring of the leopard's movement, and placing four trap cages on a hillock next to the village that the leopard was mostly moving around on, finally paid off on Monday. "Our staff, on an early morning inspection of the cages, found the animal in a cage. It was immediately sent to the Nehru Zoological Park as it had some abrasion wounds on i ...Read More >

Wayanad: The leopard that had been troubling the residents of Pulinchal in Cheeral was caught in a cage laid by the forest department late on Tuesday. The residents of the village had called for an immediate capture of the leopard, which had been roaming in and out of human settlements for several months. Apart from spreading panic and terror among the residents, the animal also killed a calf belonging to Kadanthodan Saidalavi on Tuesday morning. South Wayanad DFO Ajit K Raman told Onmanorama that the leopard is a one-year-old male. The forest department team, including veterinarians, transf ...Read More >

BENGALURU: Forest officials on Friday took into custody four persons for the death by poisoning of a tigress and her four cubs at the Gajanur beat of Hoogyam range in Male Mahadeshwara (MM) Hills wildlife sanctuary in Chamarajanagar district on Friday. The carcasses of tigress and her four cubs were discovered by patrolling personnel on Thursday. Among the arrested was Shivanna, a resident of Kallbedoddi, who used to let his cow to graze in the forest areas, and was upset after it was killed in a wild animal attack. In retaliation, officials said, Shivanna smeared pesticide on the carcass of ...Read More >

Jaipur, July 19 (SocialNews.XYZ) With its sweeping landscapes, sacred rivers, vibrant culture and world-class heritage, Madhya Pradesh is no longer just the 'Heart of India' -- it's becoming the heartbeat of global tourism. This message rang loud and clear during the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board's roadshow held at Jaipur's Jai Mahal Hotel on Friday. Speaking to a packed event of tourism stakeholders, filmmakers, and hospitality professionals from both Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, Additional Managing Director of Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board, Bidisha Mukherjee, highlighted the state's soaring ...Read More >

Kozhikode: The Kerala government's draft notification allowing the shooting of violent wild animals has brought great relief for residents of Chakkittapara gram panchayat. Residents of 10 wards of the panchayat have suffered the most in man-animal conflicts. Panchayat president K Sunil said the government's draft notification is a reflection of the bold resolution passed by the gram panchayat. Chakkittapara's Struggle For the last one-and-a-half decades, people from the highland regions have been struggling with frequent wild animal attacks. Unable to address the issue, Chakkittapara pancha ...Read More >

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], September 26 (ANI): Uttar Pradesh's villages are no longer just hoping for change -- they are becoming living examples of it. During a virtual interaction with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath as part of the Viksit UP@2047 dialogue series on Friday, Gram Pradhans shared that the development witnessed over the past eight years, which was once only a dream, has now become a reality, energizing and inspiring every village, a release said. Shivkumar Rajbhar, head of Gram Panchayat Tadwa Mahant in the Ikauna block of Shrawasti district, expressed that the entire vill ...Read More >
Jaipur: A leopard from the city's Jhalana Forest Reserve strayed into the historic Moti Doongri Fort complex, once the residence of former Jaipur royal, the late Gayatri Devi, Sunday evening triggering panic among people living close by. The fort is barely 4km from the forest. The forest department has issued an advisory urging locals not to venture out alone after dark.Range officer Jitendra Singh said, "Our team began monitoring the animal after we received information about its sighting. Camer ...Read More >

Srinagar, June 5: Indian Railways will commence regular operations of two new Vande Bharat Express trains between Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra and Srinagar from June 7, following their official inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi tomorrow, June 6. The trains will offer passengers a fast, reliable, and modern travel option, running six days a week in both directions, officials said on Thursday. Prime Minister Modi is expected to flag off the two specially designed Vande Bharat trains running between Srinagar and Katra on June 6, marking the completion of the long-awaited project to li ...Read More >

Telangana Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has registered a case against Ananthula Satish Kumar, who serves as the Gram Panchayat Secretary of Nagulapadu Annaram village in Penpahad Mandal, Suryapet district. The official allegedly demanded a bribe of ₹15,000 to provide official assistance in issuing a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Forest Department, necessary for coal production by the complainant. After negotiations, the bribe amount was reportedly reduced to ₹8,000 at the request of the complainant. The Telangana Anti-Corruption Bureau has once again appealed to the public to come ...Read More >

Pune, Aug 14 (UNI) Sixteen spotted deer died at the Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park, Pune between July 6 and 12. Laboratory reports have confirmed that the animals fell victim to the Malignant Catarrhal Fever (MCF) virus. Following the unusual deaths in such a short period, organ samples of the animals were sent for testing to the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases in Bhopal. The lab confirmed the presence of the MCF virus in some of the dead deer. This marks the first recorded case of this infection among wildlife in India. While the virus is harmless to humans, it is extremel ...Read More >
Dibrugarh: The forest department on Thursday morning finally managed to capture a female leopard at the Philobari tea estate, which had been terrorising residents for over 45 days. The big cat, aged around 7-8 years, was trapped in an iron cage, which had been set up in sector 21 of the tea estate.While locals gathered to catch a glimpse of the caged leopard, the animal was soon transported to the Doomdooma forest office for a medical examination, where officials confirmed that after a thorough health check-up the leopard will be released into the forest.Doomdooma forest ranger Bidyadhar Sonow ...Read More >

ahmedabad, India - A preliminary report into the tragic crash of Air India flight AI171 has revealed that all crew members were deemed fit to operate the flight after being breathalysed upon arrival at Ahmedabad airport. The inquiry is now intensely focused on retrieved engine components, with investigators identifying "components of interest for further examinations." The aircraft,en route to Ahmedabad,began losing altitude before crossing the airport perimeter wall. While no significant bird activity was reported near the flight path, the exact cause of the sudden descent remains under ...Read More >

Lucknow: Senior Samajwadi Party leader and former minister Gayatri Prajapati was attacked by a fellow inmate inside Lucknow Jail on Tuesday. The scuffle took place within the jail premises, after which prison authorities launched an internal inquiry. According to a statement issued by Dr Ramdhani, DIG Prisons, Lucknow Range, the incident occurred after Prajapati allegedly used abusive language towards another inmate, Vishwas Rajput. In response, Vishwas attacked Prajapati using a sharp object inside the cell. DIG Prisons clarified that the incident was not premeditated and dismissed any spec ...Read More >