Kids trek kilometers to get to school amidst Wild animals on the prowl

In the past 45 days at least 15 cattle have been killed by wild animals in the Hemadga village in Khanapur Taluka.

This area also lacks any public transport and villagers are concerned about the safety of their children who have to walk kilometers together to attend school due to no public transport and the treat of wildcats keep haunting that road during their walk.

When no public transport services have already created severe inconvenience for the villagers of Hemadga and surrounding villages, the recent launch of new trouble created due to wildcats has added fresh woes to their problem in Khanapur taluk. 

On the contrary, the Forest department says only 6 cattle have been killed mainly by wild cats.
The villagers are claiming it to be a Tiger who is on the prowl in their area. Whereas forest department officials inform the wildcats to be leopards and not tigers.

The NWKRTC had stopped its bus service to Hemadga, Pali, Anmod and other surrounding villages after heavy rains and has not yet commenced the service after part of the road was washed away. PWD has repaired the road but NWKRTC officials have certified the said road to be unfit for travel.

More than 100 children go by walk to school at Shiroli which is about 12 km and return the same distance due to no public transport. And now the threat of wildcat is haunting them, keeping their parents in the grips of fear till they return back home.

Khanapur Assistant Conservator of Forests Shashidhar said that the pug marks found near Hemadga were of leopard and so the cattle kill is suspected to be done leopard itself. As of now the forest department vehicle will pick and drop the children of Hemadga to school at Shilroli.