Operation Bhediya update: A three-year-old girl was killed, and two women were injured in a wolf attack in Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich. Another similar attack was reported from Tepra village in the state.
Operation Bhediya, introduced by the state government to control the ongoing wolf menace and catch the wolves, is underway. While drone visuals from Bahraich showed four wolves were caught, two were still on the loose.
In a separate incident, late last night, a seven-year-old boy and a woman from the Barbigha Hardi area were also attacked by wolves, according to ANI reports.
Monika Rani, the district magistrate of Bahraich, said that the wolf menace resumes within five to six days. “The wolf starts its activity after 5-6 days. This is a different village. The biggest hurdle in this operation is every time a new village is marked. The Forest Department is doing its best to catch the wolves,” the DM said quoting ANI.
According to a LiveMint report, man-eater wolves have allegedly killed around eight people, including six children and one woman, in the past one and a half months. The wolves have left more than 25 people injured in the Bahraich area while causing sleepless nights for 50,000 people residing in these areas.
On Sunday, Chief Forest Conservator (central zone) Renu Singh appealed to the people to sleep indoors and walk together in groups.
“It is my strong appeal to the people that they sleep indoors. The people who were attacked earlier by the wolves were sleeping outside. Animals will not change their habits, but we can be a little more cautious,” Renu Singh was quoted as saying by ANI.
The forest department Is using drone cameras and thermal drone mapping techniques to catch the wolves as part of Operation Bhediya. According to an official statement, the chief wildlife warden has also granted permission to tranquillise the animals.
