"8 cameras set up in tea garden for leopards", March 30 2023

Recurring incidents of preying on cattle and a sudden attack on a worker by leopards in the past fortnight have affected regular work at the Garganda tea estate in Alipurduar district, prompting forest officials to set up eight cameras to spot the animals.

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“It is a matter of concern for us as leopards are entering areas where we reside and taking away cattle from our courtyards. We feel scared to move out of our quarters after sundown,” said Suman Kheria, a worker.

He said that last Monday, two leopards attacked Subrata Bera, a worker in the garden, when he was collecting firewood at the plantation. Bera sustained serious injuries and is still under treatment at the state general hospital in Birpara.

Senior officials asked workers not to move alone in the garden. While moving in the garden to pluck tea leaves, workers are accompanied by guards who burst firecrackers regularly in a bid to ward off leopards as a preventive measure.

“It is evident that there is more than one leopard in the garden,” said a worker.

The state forest department has set up trap cameras in different locations of the garden.

“We have installed eight trap cameras so far in the garden to trace the movement of leopards and to find out if more than one leopard has sneaked into the garden. A cage has also been laid at one point of the tea estate,” said Nabojit Dey, the assistant wildlife warden of Jaldapara in Madarihat.

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