Leopard sighting at Galigopuram area sparks concern

A leopard sighting along the Alipiri footpath has sparked concern among devotees visiting the Lord Venkateswara temple in Tirumala. The big cat was captured on CCTV cameras near the Galigopuram area late Monday night, though no pilgrims were present at the time, averting any mishap.

The incident comes amid a rise in wild animal appearances around Tirumala, adding to the anxiety of visiting devotees. Forest officials, after inspecting the area, confirmed the leopard’s presence in the surrounding forest. In response, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) has heightened safety measures to protect pilgrims, who frequent the trekking routes daily.

TTD has urged devotees using the Alipiri and Srivari Mettu footpaths to remain vigilant, par-ticularly at night. As part of the precautionary steps, forest and vigilance staff are escorting groups of pilgrims along the trails during night time hours. This sighting is the latest in a string of similar incidents in recent months, prompting authori-ties to boost surveillance and patrolling in vulnerable areas.

Forest officials assured that efforts are underway to track the leopard’s movements and mitigate any potential threat to public safety. Meanwhile, the students and staff of SV University, SV Vedic University and SV Veterinary Uni-versity are still in fear of the movements of the wild animal. Forest department’s efforts to catch the leopard went futile so far as it did not enter the cage so its movements were record-ed very near to that.