GUWAHATI, July 20: A 45-year-old woman was mauled by a leopard (suspected) at Girijananda Choudhury Path, by lane-2 near Bharat Sewa Ashram at Kalapahar area of the city in the wee hours of Saturday.
The woman identified as Dipali Das was shifted to Gauhati Medical College & Hospital (GMCH).
“Dipali Das of Fatasil Ambari, Kamrup Metro was severely injured by a wild animal suspected to be a leopard and is now undergoing treatment at GMCH. The forest department is actively supporting her family in accessing medical care,” Rohini Ballav Saikia, divisional forest officer (DFO), Kamrup East Forest Division said.
A team of forest personnel from Kalapahar and Fatasil Beat led by ACF Monoranjan Barman, Divisional Forest Office, Kamrup East Division reached the hospital and took stock of the situation.
“The place of occurrence was also verified and one trap cage has been installed with the help of Assam State Zoo to rescue and rehab the animal in distress,” Praanjal Barua, range officer, Guwahati Forest Rangee, said.
Due to frequent leopard sightings, the Assam Forest Department has designated the hills surrounding the GMCH as a “leopard-bearing area” on July 18.
According to the department, the connecting road between Kahilipara and GMCH along with the surrounding hilly areas is identified as a potential leopard habitat.
The authorities have put up warning signs near GMCH, GMCH Guest House, Kamalnagar roadside, and Rajib Nagar for public awareness.
The decision was taken after repeated instances of the sightings of leopards in and around the area, an official of the forest department said.
Guwahati has inter-connected hillocks, the natural habitat of leopards and provides natural passage to spotted cats.
A good population of spotted cats is found in the surrounding hills from Garbhanga Kamakhya, Gaushala, Jalukbari, Maligaon, Kahilipar, and Narakasur hills.
Over 10-12 leopards have been tranquillized and captured from different parts of Guwahati in the last couple of years.
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 at Girijananda Choudhury Path, by lane-2 near Bharat Sewa Ashram at Kalapahar area of the city in the wee hours of Saturday.){kind=link}