Gujarat: Leopard spotted 2km from Bharuch town, alert sounded

SURAT: An alert has been sounded in the Bharuch town after a leopard was spotted near the Torrent Power guest house at Kukarvada on the embankment of Narmada river on Friday morning.
Forest officials said that the security personnel at the power company’s guest house, which is just 2km from Bharuch town, had spotted the leopard in the bushes on the river embankment.
This is first time that the leopard has strayed into the city limits of Bharuch. The official bungalows of the district superintendent of police (SP) and the collector are located few metres away from the spot where the leopard was spotted, said a forest official.
Talking with TOI, wildlife warden of Bharuch forest department, Ashish Sharma said, “This is first time that a leopard has ventured into the city limits. We have alerted the residents living close to the river embankment to take extra precaution and avoid getting out of their house after dusk.”
According to Sharma, the spot where the leopard was seen has dense bushes and is near the river embankment, which makes it difficult to locate the leopard.
Raj Patel, district forest officer (DFO) told TOI, “We have alerted the local residents about the presence of leopard. Cages have been placed to capture the big cat. We have also arranged night surveillance by the forest staff to keep a tab on the leopard.”