Sharad Sonawane, who represents Junnar in the Maharashtra assembly, claimed that 55 people have died in leopard attacks in Junnar taluka of Pune district in the last three months.
Shiv Sena MLA Sharad Sonawane employed a unique way to raise the issue of rising leopard menace across Maharashtra, as he donned a leopard costume to attend the ongoing Winter Session of the state assembly in Nagpur on Wednesday.
The lawmaker’s decision to cosplay as a wild cat came on a day when even people were injured in a leopard attack in Pardi area of Nagpur city, following which the animal captured by the forest department.
Why Sonawane donned a leopard costume?
Talking to reporters at Vidhan Bhavan, Sonawane, who represents Junnar in the Maharashtra assembly, claimed that 55 people have died in leopard attacks in Junnar taluka of Pune district in the last three months.
VIDEO | Maharashtra Assembly Winter Session: MLA Sharad Sonawane dons a leopard costume while addressing a press conference to protest against the rising incidents of leopard attacks in the state.
(Full video available on PTI Videos – https://t.co/n147TvrpG7) pic.twitter.com/GDL5KskQwo
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The legislator said people in the area fear stepping outside their homes, and demanded that the Maharashtra government should build rescue centres which can accommodate up to 2,000 leopards in Junnar taluka and Ahilyanagar district.
Asked about the government’s plan to release goats in forests to provide prey for leopards, about which Forest Minister Ganesh Naik had spoken in the House on Tuesday, Sonawane asserted the strategy would not work as leopards increasingly live in sugarcane fields and near human settlements.
The Shiv Sena MLA urged the government to declare a “state emergency” and capture at least 2,000 leopards and put them in rescue centres.
