Guard claims he saw leopard again, team brings in drones

Greater Noida: The forest department team camping at Ajnara Le Garden society in Greater Noida West brought in drones after a guard claimed to have seen an animal resembling a leopard in the society on Wednesday night.
A team of 25 forest rangers from Noida, Agra and Meerut has been looking for the leopard that was caught on camera entering the basement on Tuesday. With three cages, nets and tranquiliser guns, the foresters have been scanning every nook and corner of the society, but the animal has remained elusive.
“A guard told us he had spotted an animal like a leopard around midnight. This means that it is still hiding somewhere in the society itself,” said Suraj Arora, a resident.
A large part of the society is under construction. The lack of proper lights in that area has crippled the search for the animal at night. This under-construction area is behind the basement, where the animal was seen on Tuesday.
District forest officer Pramod Srivastava said he had urged the Greater Noida Authority to ask the developer of the society to put up a barricade around the under-construction area and cut it off the main residential compound.
“We used drones to look for the animal, but to no avail. I had called up the developer and requested for a barricade around the under-construction area. But since that was not done, we approached the Greater Noida Authority. It’s totally dark there and extremely risky for anyone venturing out,” he added.
The forest rangers have also asked for a hydraulic platform from the fire department. “Yes, we received a request for a hydraulic platform from the forest department. It will help them search each and every floor of the under-construction towers. A hydraulic platform can reach a height of 42 metres, which is equivalent to a 15-store building,” said Pradeep Kumar Chaubey, the chief fire officer.
A request, he said, had been sent to Lucknow for the platform. “They will get it by Friday,” Chaubey added.
On Thursday morning, 4 stray dogs were shifted to a shelter home.
Dogs on the society campus have been a hurdle in the search operation.