Coimbatore: A day after a leopard attacked a 48-year-old tea estate worker, hundreds of labourers of Tan tea estate staged a protest against forest officials’ inaction in Manapalli range near Valparai on Saturday.
Pointing out that several such attacks were reported in various tea estates at Valparai, they said the forest department had done little to stop the animals from entering the estates.
On Friday night, K Chandramathi of Tan tea estate was attacked by a leopard. On May 26, a leopard had attacked a 10-year-old girl, whose mother saved her daughter by counterattacking the animal with a log. In February, a four-year-old was mauled to death at Nadumalai tea estate.
As per the Manampalli range officer, R G Shekar, six camera traps have been set up in various locations where leopard movement was noticed. “We will check if it is the same leopard or there are many leopards entering the estates. Also, we will find out if it is an old leopard. Once we find it out, we will lay traps and capture the animal,” said Shekar.
The anti-poaching watchers are also on high alert, the official said.