Leopard kills farmer in Dudhwa buffer zone; BKU leaders hand over memo

A farmer, Nand Kishore Yadav, was killed by a leopard in Dudhwa buffer zone while harvesting mustard. Local unions demand compensation and better protection.

A 55-year farmer identified as Nand Kishore Yadav, a resident of Bailha Deeh village, under the Nighasan kotwali police limits, was killed in a leopard attack in the Dudhwa buffer zone on Thursday.

BKU-Tikait office-bearers handing over a charter of demands regarding human-animal conflict in Dudhwa buffer zone on Thursday. (HT Photo)

According to villagers, Nand Kishore Yadav had gone to the fields to harvest his mustard crop on Thursday.

The fields are located in an area which is surrounded by Khair jungles in the Dudhwa buffer zone and are home to wild animals.

Villagers added that while Nand Kishore was harvesting his mustard crop, a big cat hiding in a neighbouring sugarcane field pounced upon him, critically injuring him.

Hearing the shrieks of Nand Kishore, other farmers in neighbouring fields rushed to his rescue.

On seeing the farmers, the big cat left Nand Kishore and escaped into the cane fields. However, Nand Kishore succumbed to his injuries till the other farmers reached him.

Nighasan range officer Gajendra Bahadur Singh along with his staff reached the spot and inspected the scene. From the pugmarks collected on the spot, the errant big cat was identified to be a leopard.

Field director, Dudhwa Tiger Reserve (DTR), H Rajamohan, confirmed the farmer’s killing in a leopard attack.

Rajamohan said “cages have been ordered to be set up in the area to catch the errant leopard and send him back to forests.”

Farmer union leaders upset

The killing of a farmer in a big cat attack on Thursday left the local farmer union leaders concerned.

The Bhartiya Kisan Union-Tikait office-bearers of Nighasan unit, handed over a memorandum to local authorities to be handed to the district magistrate.

In their memorandum, the BKU-Tikait leaders demanded compensation of ₹30 lakh to the aggrieved family besides job to a close kin of the deceased. They also demanded fencing of buffer zone forests close to agricultural fields to prevent human-animal conflict.