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Pune: The first time Nandu Jagtap was assigned poll duty at Pimpalwandi, one of the 56 villages prone to leopard attacks in Junnar taluka, he was scared as hell. "I am not as scared this time, but am careful about my movements," said Jagtap, the presiding election officer at Pimpalwandi. This is his second stint in the village.
Jagtap said he was trained by officials of Election Commission and forest department before he was assigned duty in the village during the Lok Sabha polls this year. "We were told to move in groups, avoid any movement near sugar cane fields in the evening, carry torches, and make sounds while travelling. The first time I was in the village, it was very scary.
I constantly kept thinking about leopards lurking nearby and waiting for an opportunity to pounce on me," he said. Just a few kilometres from the polling station, Central Security Force personnel were deployed at Pimpri Pendhar, where several leopard attacks had taken place. The area has now emerged as a hotspot for intense political battle between former MLA Sharad Sonawane and current MLA from Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar) Atul Benke, who had both promised voters a solution to frequent leopard attacks.
"This is a serious issue and our workers have arranged a few vehicles for safe transportation of villagers to and from polling booths," said Benke. The Junnar assembly segment, known for having the highest density of leopards, is currently facing a four-way contest. The division saw eight deaths in leopard attacks since March this year.
Shamkant Thorat, a sugar cane farmer in Junnar, told TOI, "It is the only issue that has occupied the minds of voters this time." Vikas Gosavi, a police constable from Baramati stationed at Pimpri Pendhar, said there are hardly any chances of attacks near polling booths, but it is risky to go alone anywhere near sugar cane fields. "We have been given the same instructions to move around in groups, carry torch lights and sticks to scare away leopards," he added.
"Performing election duty in Junnar was quite a challenge for me. I had to ensure the safety of my colleagues and smooth transportation of EVMs after the voting," polling officer Sandeep Pokale from Amrapur village in the tehsil said. Meanwhile, the forest department has deployed extra guards and vehicles to ensure that the voting is not hampered, especially around the areas where the density of leopards is high.
However, since 50 percent of the forest team has been deployed for election duty, the department is now short-staffed. "We had conducted a special drive with election officials during Lok Sabha polls. However, this time due to consecutive leopard attacks, resulting in deaths of villagers, we had no time to brief the officials.
But our team members have told villagers and election officials to follow safety regulations of travelling in groups, carry torches, and to be on alert while moving early in the morning and evening," said Amol Satpute, deputy conservator of forest, Junnar division. (Additional reporting by Sandip Dighe) Pune: The first time Nandu Jagtap was assigned poll duty at Pimpalwandi, one of the 56 villages prone to leopard attacks in Junnar taluka, he was scared as hell. "I am not as scared this time, but am careful about my movements," said Jagtap, the presiding election officer at Pimpalwandi.
This is his second stint in the village. Jagtap said he was trained by officials of Election Commission and forest department before he was assigned duty in the village during the Lok Sabha polls this year. "We were told to move in groups, avoid any movement near sugar cane fields in the evening, carry torches, and make sounds while travelling.
The first time I was in the village, it was very scary. I constantly kept thinking about leopards lurking nearby and waiting for an opportunity to pounce on me," he said. Just a few kilometres from the polling station, Central Security Force personnel were deployed at Pimpri Pendhar, where several leopard attacks had taken place.
The area has now emerged as a hotspot for intense political battle between former MLA Sharad Sonawane and current MLA from Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar) Atul Benke, who had both promised voters a solution to frequent leopard attacks. "This is a serious issue and our workers have arranged a few vehicles for safe transportation of villagers to and from polling booths," said Benke. The Junnar assembly segment, known for having the highest density of leopards, is currently facing a four-way contest.
The division saw eight deaths in leopard attacks since March this year. Shamkant Thorat, a sugar cane farmer in Junnar, told TOI, "It is the only issue that has occupied the minds of voters this time." Vikas Gosavi, a police constable from Baramati stationed at Pimpri Pendhar, said there are hardly any chances of attacks near polling booths, but it is risky to go alone anywhere near sugar cane fields.
"We have been given the same instructions to move around in groups, carry torch lights and sticks to scare away leopards," he added. "Performing election duty in Junnar was quite a challenge for me. I had to ensure the safety of my colleagues and smooth transportation of EVMs after the voting," polling officer Sandeep Pokale from Amrapur village in the tehsil said.
Meanwhile, the forest department has deployed extra guards and vehicles to ensure that the voting is not hampered, especially around the areas where the density of leopards is high. However, since 50 percent of the forest team has been deployed for election duty, the department is now short-staffed. "We had conducted a special drive with election officials during Lok Sabha polls.
However, this time due to consecutive leopard attacks, resulting in deaths of villagers, we had no time to brief the officials. But our team members have told villagers and election officials to follow safety regulations of travelling in groups, carry torches, and to be on alert while moving early in the morning and evening," said Amol Satpute, deputy conservator of forest, Junnar division. (Additional reporting by Sandip Dighe).
