50-year-old woman mauled to death by leopard in MP’s Seoni
SEONI (MP): In the second incident of animal attack in less than a week, a 50-year-old woman was mauled to death by a leopard in Madhya Pradesh’s Seoni district, an official said on Wednesday.
The incident took place on Tuesday, when Gajra Pancheshwar was cutting paddy with other women in a field in Ugli area of the district, said B C Meshram, the manager of the Seoni Forest Development Corporation.
A leopard attacked the woman and mauled her to death, he said, adding that the other women fled from the spot to save themselves.
The forest department has provided an immediate financial assistance of ₹10,000 to the family of the deceased, and ex gratia of ₹3.9 lakh will be disbursed soon, it was stated.
Meanwhile, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) S K S Tiwari said four cages have been set up in the area to trap the animal.
Earlier on October 16, a 16-year-old girl was killed by a leopard in Kanhiwada forest area near Pandiwada village.
The same leopard is involved in attacks on cattle in the villages of this area, the official said.
The authorities have written to the forest headquarters to declare this leopard a maneater, he said.
The DFO further said that villagers have been advised to stay away from the areas where such incidents have occurred and remain alert till the predator is captured.
In a similar incident, a 50-year-old woman was mauled to death by a leopard near Mohgaon village under the Keolari block in Seoni district on September 15.
Excessive construction work in the Western Ghats and the Himalayas is worsening climate disasters, ecologist Madhav Gadgil said in an interview with
on Tuesday.
The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, which was constituted by the central government and chaired by Gadgil, had recommended in 2011 that 75% of the 129,037 sq. km of the Western Ghats – spanning Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa and Kerala – be declared an environmentally sensitive area. The panel’s recommendations were not implemented. Gadgil said the climate crisis and unsustainable land use will trigger bigger disasters on India’s west coast. Excerpts:
Nandi Jayashree The scale of devastation we are seeing due to extremely heavy rainfall in October is unprecedented in Kerala and Uttarakhand. Why is this happening?
It is not unprecedented. In the Western Ghats, such disasters have been happening frequently in the past few years. In the Himalayas, we have seen instances of such flooding over the past 50 years.
The Chipko agitation in Uttarakhand in 1972 was partly triggered by flooding in the Alaknanda because of cutting of trees and hill slopes.
These activities have only increased over the years. The Himalayas are even more fragile compared to the Western Ghats because they were created out of sediments from the sea during the collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates.
The Himalayan soil is susceptible to landslides and erosion. The Western Ghats, on the other hand, were created out of volcanic rocks.
In both these regions, we are seeing extremely destructive activities in the name of so-called development. Road projects cutting through hillsides are common to both regions.
The findings of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel were quite revealing. You foresaw these disasters in Kerala and Konkan, and even pointed out the most vulnerable districts correctly. Why do you think your recommendations were not implemented?
I know what kind of vested interests are prevailing. They are nurtured. They are the construction lobby who work so that the rich can make more and more money. People in the Konkan have now started talking a great deal about improper construction of bridges, high embankments and highways in vulnerable areas...
These vested interests are dominating everywhere in the Western Ghats, and are functioning illegally.
Is it only these construction projects or has climate crisis also exacerbated disasters in the Western Ghats?
Climate crisis is having a perceptible impact on the entire west coast. Sea level is increasing, and the pattern of cyclone formation has changed. Cyclonic activity had reduced over Bay of Bengal and increased over Arabian Sea, including a spike in severe cyclones.
All along the west coast, the coastal regulation zone has been crumpled under the feet. Mangroves are being destroyed and several ports are being built to support the demand for construction.
These will be devastated by cyclones in the future. In another five to 10 years, cyclones will impact the entire region.
The environment ministry is planning to amend the Forest Conservation Act of 1980 to bring significant changes to forest governance. How will this impact biodiversity?
Such amendments are in flagrant violation of the Forest Rights Act of 2006. Local communities at least nurture and protect forests because they get non-timber forest produce from it.