Holiday declared for CFTRI School

Mysuru: Two leopards loitering inside the CFTRI campus in the heart of the city have created panic. The felines were spotted at 1.30 am on a road between the CFTRI School and a building nearby.

The leopards were spotted by security person Prabhakar, who was on his night rounds yesterday and he immediately alerted the CFTRI Director, who in turn informed the Forest Department.

CFTRI School Principal was notified and the parents were informed through telephone, WhatsApp and social media not to send children to school.

A holiday was declared for the school in view of the safety of the children but still many children had come to the school. They were later sent back to their homes and it was ensured that they have reached safely.

Assistant Conservator of Forests Lakshmikanth and Range Forest Officer Surendra rushed to the campus along with teams and launched combing operations. But neither the leopards nor pugmarks or scat were spotted.

The vast campus has over 60 unoccupied staff quarters on the side where the felines were spotted and many of the quarters do not have doors, grills and windows. It was initially suspected that the leopards could have taken shelter in one of the quarters but searches proved futile.

Cages will be placed at four to five locations inside the campus and two DRFOs and staff will camp in the area. Speaking to reporters, CFTRI Acting Director Satish said that they had taken immediate and comprehensive precautions as soon as the security person alerted them.

“We have declared a holiday and have asked all the staff to be wary and those working in the laboratories in remote areas of the campus and on the ground floor have been asked to lock the lab doors before starting work. We will decide on the next course of action after discussing with the Forest Department. Also, a suitable decision will be taken on when to reopen the school,” Satish added.