Palakkad: Anxiety has resurfaced in Malampuzha after a leopard was spotted again close to the Government Vocational Higher Secondary School and the Navodaya School, forcing authorities to strengthen security and monitoring efforts.

 The forest department has installed additional surveillance cameras in the area to monitor the animal’s movement. A special team from the Rapid Response Unit under the department will also conduct inspections from 6 PM onwards. A review meeting was held under the leadership of Malampuzha Panchayat president N Sreejith, with the participation of Block Panchayat vice-president Radhika Madhavan, standing committee chairperson V Santhosh, panchayat members K Leelavathi and Anju Jayan and Walayar Forest Range Officer K Praveen.

As part of precautionary measures, Panchayat president Sreejith has written to the Executive Engineer of the Irrigation Department seeking to clear the bushes and dense undergrowth around the irrigation department quarters and premises of the Malampuzha House. Leopard movement in the area has been reported frequently, triggering concern among residents.

The other day, a leopard leapt close to the scooter of Krishnan, a local resident, while he was passing through the area. Although the Forest Department had installed a cage following a tiger sighting two months ago, the measure did not yield results. Following the incident, bushes and undergrowth in the area were cleared under the leadership of the school PTA.