DEHRADUN: Deadly leopard and bear attacks are intensifying human–wildlife conflict in Uttarakhand, forcing families to abandon villages and exposing the state’s failure to protect lives and livelihoods in the hills.
Following a week of terror marked by leopard and bear attacks, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has issued stern directives to officials, yet a sense of helplessness prevails across the state.
The death of a three-year-old girl in Barswar village, located in the Jaiharikhal block of the Lansdowne constituency, has sent shockwaves through the region. The toddler was playing in her courtyard when a leopard, lying in ambush, snatched her and dragged her into the forest. Her mutilated remains were recovered later.
A photograph of her father weeping over her body in a hospital bed went viral and ignited a fierce debate over the viability of life in the hills. Following this tragedy, Barswar now stands on the brink of becoming another “ghost village”.
The surge in attacks by leopards, tigers, elephants and bears has pushed public patience to a breaking point. Protests have erupted across various districts. In several areas, schools have been shut down, and children are only allowed to commute with an armed escort. After dusk, an “undeclared curfew” is followed in the villages, with residents barricading themselves indoors.
Experts note that the Forest Department lacks a concrete plan to mitigate the crisis. A critical shortage of official shooters has forced the administration to rely on private hunters to neutralise man-eaters.
Speaking to TNIE, Uttarakhand Forest Minister Subodh Uniyal outlined the government’s strategy. “We have proposed planting fruit-bearing trees deep within forests to ensure herbivores remain in their natural habitats. This will significantly reduce wildlife incursions into human settlements.”
However, conservationists remain sceptical. While this may deter herbivores, they argue that predators such as leopards and tigers have already become habituated to easy prey in village courtyards and livestock pens. For these “addicted” predators, forest-based solutions may come too late.
The grim reality of the conflict is most visible in Bastga village in Pokhara. The last remaining residents, the family of Harish Prasad Nautiyal, have finally fled following relentless bear attacks. For five years, they were the sole guardians of the village, but their resolve broke in January after a bear slaughtered six of their cattle.
Now taking refuge in a rented room in Paniya village, a distraught Harish Prasad Nautiyal said, “I never imagined I would have to abandon my ancestral home because of a bear. It has snatched away our livelihood; today, we are helpless.”
According to village head Harshpal Singh Negi, Bastga once housed 18 families. Today, it is officially a “ghost village”.
While Nakshtra Shah, ranger of the Pokhara Range, claims security will be provided to encourage the family’s return, a viral video showing the Nautiyal family loading their meagre belongings onto a truck tells a different story - one of a state losing its people to the wild.