CHANDIGARH: Haryana wildlife officials have blamed scarcity of water on the Haryana side of Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary for scant sightings of leopards. The death of a 10-month-old female leopard in a road accident on Gurgaon-Faridabad highway has ascertained the presence of feline on Haryana side of the sanctuary. The last sighting was also of a leopard carcass around the same area in 2015. The department is planning to provide piped water from villages to pits in forest areas. Around 22 pits have been dug up to store rain water during the monsoon.Divisional forest official Shyam Sunder Kaushik said, “The sighting of leopards has been almost nil as the animal does not come this side of the sanctuary due to scarcity of water, which has become acute in the last few years.”The pugmarks of animals have been tell-tale signs of its frequent visits in the region.The environmentalists have resented the statements nullifying the presence of leopards in the region, as they feel it would encourage human intrusion and commercial exploitation of the area. The sanctuary provides a long leopard landscape on Delhi–Haryana range.In order to resolve water scarcity , the wildlife officials have taken up the task of replenishing pits, trenches and ponds with water during the summer in the region. “Tankers are used to fill the pits in Gurgaon and Faridabad part of Asola Bhatti WLS with water. The spots are selected in such a manner that leopards or wildlife as a whole can access it easily,” said additional principal chief conservator of forest Vinod Kumar.Last year, the department also used drones to map pits and sites with water availability post-monsoon. The department had dug up 22 pits to be filled up with rain water during monsoon. This ensured water availability for at least five months of monsoon. But to deal with the water crisis during summer months, the department plans to connect pits to water lines in forest areas taking connection from the water lines in nearby villages.

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