Leopards, bears keep Ballari residents indoors at night

Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT

Ballari residents think twice before setting out of their house after dark, due to fear of either leopards or the wild bears.

 The big rock hill situated in the heart of the city has been a picnic spot, with residents scaling it to enjoy the sunset, and joggers climb the hill to build endurance and burn fat. But now all this has come to a stop due to the threat posed by the wild animals.

In fact, the earlier Ballari district had Daroji Bear Sanctuary, but now it comes under the newly-formed Vijayanagar District. So, the wild bears are not new to these people as they would be visiting several villages regularly.

Recently, the people of Ballari have spotted two leopards living on the rock hill. Similarly, the wild bears set out on the night strolling in Halakundi village which is situated close to Ballari City.

For around 15 days, the Forest Department personnel have kept ready the cage, tranquiliser and the big nets to capture the leopards and relocate them to Sandur forests. But these the two wild cats have so far proved elusive. It is intriguing that the leopards are spotted by people but not by forest department personnel.

The residents of Sanjay Nagar, Indira Nagar and surrounding areas are living under constant fear. The police are also using public address system to exhort the residents to stay indoors after the sunset. The failure to nab the wild bear has also angered people.

 The residents of nearby areas lock both front and back doors of their houses, and keep pets inside the home as leopard are known to attack dogs. The wild bears take away food and other eatables kept outside the houses at Halakundi village every night. The visuals of the wild bears taking away the food from a house were captured in CCTV.

Once the residents see bears, they try to drive them out of the village by pelting stones at them. But they would return the next day. The Ballari residents have appealed to the Forest Department to captured the leopards and bears at the earliest.