A leopard strayed into Maruti’s Manesar plant in the early hours of Thursday grinding production to a halt for several hours. Thousands of workers were seen waiting outside the plant as search parties tried to spot the wild cat. The feline had not been rescued till time of going to print.
Conservator of Forests (South Circle) Vinod Kumar said that the leopard, which entered the plant around 3.30 a.m., was confined to the Engine Unit of the factory around afternoon.
“The animal was spotted inside the Engine Unit around 3 p.m. and the area was cordoned off. The rest of the plant was cleared for resumption of production. Two cages with goats have been placed inside the room, but they are designed in a manner that the leopard cannot reach them,” said Mr. Kumar.
The leopard was seen near one of the cages around 8 p.m. “We are quite hopeful that it will be caught soon,” said Mr. Kumar.
Workers evacuated
The forest official added that the movement of the feline was being monitored through CCTV cameras and they expected the leopard to come out of hiding soon.
Mr. Kumar said that rescue operation were being hindered as the factory has numerous hiding points, raised platforms and a plethora of machines. “It was not safe for the rescue team to physically check the area. So we chose to monitor its movement mostly through CCTV cameras,” he added.
The official said that the animal could have entered the plant by vaulting the factory’s boundary wall facing the Aravallis hills near Kasan village.
The leopard was first spotted by security guard Dharambir Singh outside the guard’s room at the company’s gate no. 2 around 3.30 a.m. Mr. Singh immediately made a call to the company’s Control Room, but amid the commotion, the animal was able to walk into the plant, which is spread across several acres.
Around 350 workers inside the plant were evacuated almost two hours before their scheduled time and the police were informed. The forest officials reached the plant around 6 a.m. carrying nets and tranquillisers to rescue the leopard.
Morning shift affected
The plant’s production was hit with the morning shift, which starts at 6:30 a.m., being suspended.
“We got to know about the incident while on our way to work. We were not allowed inside the plant. Around 2,000 workers are in the morning shift,” said an employee. Production was partially resumed in the afternoon after the feline was confined to the Engine Unit of the plant.
Scores of trucks also remained queued up outside the plant waiting to off-load material. “We came from Bilaspur around 7 a.m. carrying engines, but were not allowed to enter inside even after four hours,” said Devender, a truck driver.
