Basharat Rashid
Pulwama: The locals of Sangrama village in Tral on Wednesday expressed resentment against wildlife department for failing to capture the bears, hiding in a Chinar tree.
The residents told INS that from last seven months, a big bear along with two babies, roams in and around the village during morning and evening hours.
They said that even though wildlife authorities placed a cage outside in the village few months back but the cage has been placed in such a manner that bears easily move out from there.
“I had a narrow escape as I spotted the bear in a field. I screamed which caught attention of people who rushed to the area and the animal went inside the chinar tree,” a local Bilal Ahmad said, adding, “Wildlife authorities could easily tranquillize the bears.”
The locals demanded wildlife authorities to take “some serious steps to capture the bears for the safety of people as wide gapes can be seen on many portions of the Chinar tree.”
When contacted Wildlife Range Officer, Tral, Iqbal Khursheed, told INS that cage is placed there and every effort was being done to capture the bears.
He also sought cooperation from people as “team is always ready to reach the spot to ensure that the animals are captured.”
