Maharashtra: Confusion within forest department leaves Vasaikars at wits’ end

Vasai residents are perplexed as to whether or not they should take the Vasai fort road past sunset as the forest departmentmdashwhich has kept the stretch off limits for 12 hours after 7 pm every day in a bid to capture a leopardmdashhas been inconsistent in its enforcement of the rule Dozens of forest department officials as well as members of two NGOs have been camping near the ruins of the Vasai fort since March 29After the big cat was spotted near Vasai fort the officials concerned had ordered that the arterial Vasai fort road be blocked after 7 pm for 12 hours But the stretch was left open on Friday evening after which it was shut again on Saturday evening Interestingly every exit on the fort premises where the forest department had installed barricades to restrict public movement was opened ldquoThe local fishermen are incurring losses I am wondering why the road which was left open on Friday evening was blocked again on Saturday evening by forest officialsrdquo said Sanjay Koli a villagerForest officials on the Vasai fort premises where cages are believed to be installed to trap the leopard PicsHanif PatelThere are two villages near the fort Pachu Bandar and Killa Bandar in which nearly 16000 people reside Though no humananimal conflict has been noticed since March 29 residents are reeling under constant fear and hope the wild cat is captured soon ldquoWe donrsquot know what their game plan is as we have been facing difficulties attending church after 7 pm on Saturday because the officials do not allow us to cross the stretch in the nightrdquo said Vijay Agaskar a government school teacher said adding ldquoA total of 7000 Catholics live in the village and all of us are facing difficulties attending evening church services especially on weekendsrdquoKuldeep Vartak a local social worker said ldquoPeople have been having sleepless nights since the past month but the deputy conservator of forest DCF Dahanu is not even bothered to visit the area to meet residents who have not been taken into confidence amid the rescue operation of the leopard Whatrsquos stopping the DCF from visiting Vasai from DahanurdquoldquoThe forest department along with two NGOs has been claiming to be working to capture the leopard since March 29 But it is yet to be captured The forest department has miserably failed as they are busy opening and shutting the road instead of capturing the leopard to restore normalcy The business of local fishermen has been damaged in the past one monthrdquo Vartak saidTo trap a predatorThough Madhumita Subramani DCF Dahanu refused to comment on the capturing of the leopard sources have told midday that the higherups gave the order to install two cages on the 17th day and these were set up at two different locations at Vasai fort which is spread across approximately 110 acres ldquoNearly one dozen traps as well as live cameras were immediately placed across the majestic Vasai fort to capture the movement of leopard We had been awaiting orders from higherups in Nagpur before installing cages to capture the big cat Though we had been constantly following up the requests were approved on the 17th day and the cages were installed on the 18th day from March 29rdquo a source from the forest department saidThe Vasai fort road has been shut for 12 hours for the past few weeksldquoInitially chickens were kept in the cages to trap the leopard but the big cat was smart enough not to fall for this snare Itrsquos male and we assume that it might have been previously captured in a cage But this will be confirmed only when it is capturedrdquo said the source ldquoAfter a few days when the leopard did not notice the cages we kept goats in them But our efforts have gone in vain so farrdquo added the sourceCoordination issuesThere is a lack of coordination among the departmentrsquos officials said another source adding ldquoThe locations where cages have been installed do not correspond to the areas where leopard movement is frequently observed Though we have been suggesting that the location of the cages be changed some are unnecessarily intervening and not allowing us to do so This is the prime reason behind the delay in capturing the wild catrdquoThough residents of Vasai and the fishing community said that a few stray dogs and goats have been missing in the area after the leopard was first sighted last month a forest official said no carcasses were noticed in the fort area ldquoIt is believed that the leopard has been sustaining itself on rodents which are abundant in the area Also it is widely seen near mangroves so it must be eating crabs and fishrdquo said the sourceOfficial SpeakThough the local fishing community is frustrated because the leopard is yet to be caught Range Forest Officer Mandvi Shweta Ade told midday ldquoInitially all the exits of Vasai fort were kept closed at night as the leopard was seen crossing the road Now the road has been opened for the publicrdquoldquoI have been asked to capture the movement of leopard in the area so I am following the order from our higherupsrdquo said Ade who added ldquoLocals have been told not to operate their vehicles at a high speed on the fort road which has now been opened following the directions of the DCF Dahanurdquo ldquoWe are taking all possible measures to keep the safety of people and the animal in mindrdquo Ade addedA senior executive of an NGO that has been assisting the forest officials said ldquoSince March 29 our team of volunteers along with forest department and field researchers have been monitoring the leopardrsquos activities not only with camera traps but also live cameras The forest department has conducted awareness programmes for public safety Forest department officials are conducting regular patrolling 24x7 to prevent leopardhuman conflict Initially locals reported that the animal was crossing the road every night so the forest department restricted the movement of vehicles at nighttimerdquoHe added ldquoFor the past six days with the help of live cameras we came to know that the leopard did not cross the road So for the past two days the department stopped restricting vehicles as it seems that the animal is not roaming near the road or human habitats We appeal to the people not to panic if they spot the leopardThey should inform the forest department and not try to provoke the big catrdquoldquoI was present near the Vasai fort on Saturday evening when a few people tried to go beyond the barricades to their villages but the road was blocked as forest officials are conducting the operationrdquo Ranjeet Andhale senior inspector of Vasai police station told middayTimeline of curious incident at Vasai fortThe Portugueseera fort a centrally protected monumentMarch 29 Leopard is first seen near Vasai fort around 840 pmMarch 30 Multiple camera traps are installed to keep track of the movement of the big cat All exits of the fort are barricadedApril 2 Forest officials call a meeting with locals and request them to cooperate in their operationApril 13 A meeting is called at the tehsildar office where the local fishing community forest and revenue officials are present to discuss the rescue operationApril 15 Forest officials receive an order from higherups in Nagpur to install cagesApril 16 Initially two cages with a few chickens were set up in the area to trap the leopard However after a few days forest officials bring in goats to lure the predatorApril 19 Forest officials remove barricades following directive of DCF DahanuApril 20 All the exits of Vasai fort are barricaded again after 7pm for 12 hoursApril 21 The barricades are removed16000Population of Pachu and Killa Bandar