Fear grips villages in Yadadri and Siddipet as tiger roams forest areas

Villagers in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri and Siddipet live in fear after a tiger moved through their areas. Forest officials installed cages, cameras, and drones to track it. The big cat, possibly from Maharashtra, attacked a calf and caused widespread panic.

Hyderabad: People in over half a dozen villages of Yadadri Bhuvanagiri and Siddipet districts continue to live in fear after the forest official and local village heads advised them to exercise caution following movement of a tiger.

The forest department officials have installed cages, camera traps and thermal drones to track the movement of a tiger in around six to seven villages on the border of the two districts.

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The villages of Kondapur, Srinvaspuram, Tirmulapuram, Konapur, Veerareddypally, Gandamalla, in Turkapally mandal of Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district, and Baswapur, Peerlapally, and Dharmaram of Jagdevpur mandal in Siddipet were advised against venturing into the forest alone and asked to return home early.

“The village roads are deserted after nightfall as people are afraid to venture out of the houses for fear of the tiger. Those heading for work in nearby towns are returning home early, and if late are staying at their relatives’ or friends’ place at night,” said Mahesh, a resident of Jagdevpur mandal.

On Sunday evening, a native of Jagdevpur mandal in Siddipet claimed to have sighted the tiger on the road connecting Kondapur village to Perlapally village. After reaching the Perlapally village, he alerted the locals, who in turn informed the forest officials.

“The forest officials visited the route in the night and checked the roads, but there was no sign of the tiger. Again in the day, a team of officials visited the village outskirts,” said K Omprakash, sarpanch of Peerlapally village.

The tiger had attacked a calf belonging to a farmer, Narsimhulu, at Gandamalla village in Turkapally mandal, following which trap cameras were installed and a cage was set up in the village.

The big cat is suspected to have begun its trek from Maharashtra in search of a female tiger and to establish its territory, and travelled through KB Asifabad, Mancherial, Kamareddy, Jagtial, Rajanna Siricilla and Siddipet districts before entering Yadadri Bhuvanagiri. It was the first time in close to five decades that the tiger movement was noticed in the district.