Leopard sighting on Alipiri walkway in Tirupati sends panic among devotees

The leopard was sighted on the walkway near Galigupuram with its movements captured on CCTV footage in a shop around 1 am. The shopkeeper alerted the officials of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam

Tirupati: A leopard was sighted on the Alipiri walkway in Andhra Pradesh’s Tirupati early on Tuesday, triggering panic among local shopkeepers and devotees.

The leopard was sighted on the walkway near Galigupuram with its movements captured on CCTV footage in a shop around 1 am. The shopkeeper alerted the officials of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD). The TTD officials advised devotees to use the walkway only in groups. As a precautionary measure, they also restricted access for children under the age of 12.

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Two weeks ago, a leopard was sighted near Muggu Bavi on the walkway. It had retreated into the woods. However, the TTD security personnel had been providing security to devotees.

After the latest incident, the TTD officials, along with the Forest Department, have put in place additional security measures. Alipiri walkway is used by hundreds of devotees every day to reach the Sri Venkateshwara temple atop Tirumala hills. The 9-km-long route has 3,550 steps to reach the hill shrine.

In January, a leopard was sighted near Alipiri on the foothill of Tirumala hills, sending panic among the residents of Tirupati as well as the pilgrims. A contract employee of TTD’s Aswini Hospital was injured when he encountered a leopard while travelling on a bike on Alipiri-Cherlopalli road.

The big cat jumped off the road median to cross the road towards the abutting forest. Muni Kumar fell from the bike when he panicked upon seeing the leopard.

Leopards have been making frequent appearances on this road during the last several months.

A six-year-old girl was mauled to death by a leopard on August 11, 2023. She was walking to Tirumala on the Alipiri footpath along with her parents. Her body was found behind the Narasimha Swamy temple the next morning.

In another incident, a three-year-old boy was also attacked by a wild cat. The animal had tried to drag the boy into the forest but it was chased away by pilgrims and security personnel.

The TTD, along with the Forest Department, had stepped up the vigil. They imposed certain curbs on the movement of devotees trekking to the temple and installed CCTV cameras. They captured four leopards in a span of two months by setting up cages along the walkway.