Bahraich:

Amid fears of wolf attack, villagers in Mahsi area attacked and killed a dog after it allegedly attacked three villagers.

Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Ajit Pratap Singh told reporters on Friday evening that forest workers reached the spot on Thursday around 9.30 pm after receiving news of an animal attack on Sangam Lal, son of local resident Maikoolal, in Majra Lodhanpurwa of village Yadavpur in Mahsi tehsil area.

The villagers said it was a wolf attack but the forest workers did not find any footprints of the wolf, he said.

The DFO said on Friday morning again, information was received from the same village that an animal had attacked Kriparam (65) and his grandson Satyam (four). After the attack, the villagers beat the animal to death with sticks thinking it to be a wolf.

When forest workers arrived, the dead animal turned out to be a dog. There were no footprints of the wolf in the village. Injured Kriparam also said on seeing the dead dog that the same animal had attacked, he said, adding the injured are undergoing treatment.

Wolf attacks have been taking place on people in Mahsi tehsil area of Bahraich since March. The attacks increased during the rainy season.

From July till Monday, a total of eight people including seven children have died in these attacks. About three dozen people including women, children and elderly have been injured. About 20 of these people are seriously injured.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Bahraich:

Amid the ongoing man-wolf conflict in Mahasi Tehsil of Bahraich district, the Uttar Pradesh government has declared it a ‘Wildlife Disaster’ affected area, a state minister said on Wednesday.

“Considering the man animal conflict in the region of Bahraich district, the region has been declared a Wildlife Disaster area,” Minister of Fisheries Sanjay Kumar Nishad told PTI.

The minister said that declaring the region a Wildlife Disaster area will not only expedite the ongoing ‘Operation Bhediya’ to catch the animals involved in the attack on humans but will also help the affected families to get a compensation amount without much trouble.

“By declaring a region a Wildlife Disaster area it becomes easier for the victims to get immediate compensation. There is a provision in the Wildlife Act that in case of terror of a dangerous animal in the forest there is no delay in taking decisions regarding killing man-eating animals etc. It also becomes easier to sanction funds etc.,” he said.

The wolf attacks on humans have been taking place in Bahraich since March. The attacks have become more frequent since July 17 when the rainy season began.

Till Monday, the wolves had killed eight people, including seven children, and wounded about 36.

Nishad and Forest and Environment Minister Arun Saxena, who visited Bahraich on Wednesday, held a meeting with the district officials and discussed in detail the attacks being carried out by the wolf.

The two ministers also visited the hospital and inquired about the condition of the villagers injured in the attacks and instructed the hospital administration to provide them the best possible treatment.

“Human life is invaluable, so an order has been issued to catch the wolves which are attacking humans. For this, teams of experts have been called from Dehradun,” Saxena told the media.

“Teams have also been increased at the local level to catch the wolf. It is expected that the animals will soon be either caged or shot if needed,” he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)