Doda: Dozens of students and staff members at Government Medical College (GMC) Doda, as well as residents of the district's Ghat village, face a life-threatening situation since a "man-eater leopard" roams freely in the vicinity.
Residents claimed that the big cat roams in the village and around the GMC campus looking for prey as the sun sets. They alleged that the wildlife department has turned a blind eye to this dangerous situation and failed to act.
“The leopard has so far attacked dogs, donkeys, and monkeys in the area, and his desire to hunt more is ever-increasing,” Masood Ahmad, a local said. “There has been no recent attack on the humans, but in the past, the big cat has killed a 10-year-old boy near the Nalwa area, around three kilometres from Ghat village towards Doda town, when the boy was trekking towards his home,” he said.
Located five kilometres east of the district headquarters, the Ghat village is home to over 2,000 people and more than 500 students and staff members of GMC Doda. "The chances of leopards entering the college campus in the village are high, as the college is without any boundary wall or a gate, and any animal can easily enter the campus and wreak havoc," locals alleged.
Many students, both boys and girls, are currently residing in college hostels, and a few are staying on rent in the village. All of them are regular visitors to the medical college campus, and to get anything essential, students have to visit the nearby shops every now and then, and the threat of attack from the leopard is always high.
“In the back of the mind, the fear of leopards remains, and the GMC campus is without the fencing and proper boundary wall. The big cat and other wild animals can enter the campus any time,” said a final-year student of GMC Doda. “Not only has the dog menace increased manifold, but no action has been taken so far,” he alleged.
According to the department officials, the leopards move towards the lower areas from upper reaches during winter due to the presence of snow on the hills.
“There is a traditional cave on the rear side of the GMC campus down near the stream from where the big cat moves out after sunset in search of food. In the past we had installed a cage in the GMC campus, but this time there has been no communication to install it again,” said Jugal Kishore, an employee of the wildlife department of Doda.
The GMC Doda was established along with four other GMCs, including Kathua, Rajouri, Anantnag, and Baramulla, after the former Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had allotted the same.
At present the GMC Doda has received its full strength of 500 MBBS students this year, and the college is completely functional on its campus at village Ghat. However, construction work is still pending, including the boundary wall, residential quarters, and some other buildings.
Speaking to ETV Bharat, GMC Doda Principal Dr Rakesh Bahl said that he was informed about the presence of wild animals, including leopards, during the winters by the officials of GMC. “I have written a letter to the wildlife department to take action so that students are not hurt, but there has been no reply,” he said.
“As far as the construction of the boundary wall is concerned, there was a shortage of funds, but now the government has released the same. I have already taken up the issue with the public works department authorities, and the chief engineer has informed me that tenders have been floated, and soon the work will be allotted and boundary wall construction will be taken up,” the principal said.
The threat of wild animals invading the GMC site will persist over the winter season as the construction would take months rather than a day or two.
“Another irony is that there is just one wildlife range for the twin districts of Doda and Kishtwar, which is also located in district Kishtwar. The entire district is controlled by a helper, one surveyor, and a few departmental casual workers with no official oversight,” said an official.
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