The state government has urged the Centre to allow it to put down leopards that have turned into maneaters and conduct a sterilisation programme to contain their growing population in several districts of Maharashtra, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Tuesday.

With growing instances of leopard attacks leading to loss of lives, especially in Pune and Ahmednagar districts, Fadnavis told in Mumbai , “Deaths due to leopard attacks have been a concern and need to be tackled cautiously given the stringent norms enforced by forest departments at the Centre and state.”

“While striking a balance to safeguard both human lives and protect animals, we have to also take strong measures to effectively tackle leopards that have become maneaters as loss of human lives have led to intimidation

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