Uttarakhand Schools Closed in Tehri, Exams Postponed After Leopard Kills Girl

Uttarakhand: Schools, Colleges and other educational institutions in Tehri district are closed today. This decision was announced considering the safety of students.The Tehri District Magistrate Mayur Dixit has declared a three-day holiday in the Bhaud village, Purwal village primary school, Anthwal village primary and high school as well as Anganwadi centres. Even the half yearly exams, scheduled to be held this month stands postponed. A man-eating leopard attached the city last week and killed a 13-year-old girl in the Bhilangana area. Officials said that the forest department team is camping in the area in search of the leopard, but it has not been caught by the 'shooters' yet. The incident took place on October 19 when the girl came out of her house to play. The leopard, who was sitting in ambush in the bushes, pounced on her. The leopard dragged her and escaped into the forest. Kot Maher's Gram Pradhan Surekha Ghanta said the "man-eater" leopard had killed a nine-year-old girl in Bhaund village on July 22 and a three-year-old boy in Purwal village on September 29. The forest officer has shared that efforts are being made to find the leopard with drone cameras.The forest department has arranged vehicles so that children studying in far-off schools travel safely. One must note that this is not the first time that leopards are disrupting normal life in Uttarakhand. Range Officer Ashish Nautiyal said adequate lighting arrangements have been made to catch the leopard.(With inputs from PTI)