PUNE, Nov. 13 -- State forest minister Ganesh Naik has issued shoot-to-kill orders in the state's war on "man-eating" leopards in Pune district, a move that may calm frightened villagers but could raise eyebrows for the aggressive approach being adopted. "The leopard population has risen sharply in Junnar and Shirur tehsils. If this trend continues, we might soon see leopards roaming the streets like stray dogs. It is crucial to take serious measures for both population control and conflict prevention in Pune and Ahilyanagar districts," said Naik, addressing villagers in Pimparkhed in Shirur tehsil, on Wednesday. Naik's order comes amid an escalation in leopard attacks on humans in Pune district. In the last two months alone, four fatal attacks have been reported - two children and two seniors. Frequent leopard sightings in Junnar, Shirur, Ambegaon and Khed talukas have caused alarm among villagers. Pimparkhed village in Shirur tehsil, 80 km from Pune city, has emerged as a hotspot for leopard-human conflict in the region. "The department is on constant alert. Recently, we eliminated a leopard believed to be involved in an attack," said Naik, who proceeded to direct chief conservator of forests (territorial) Jitendra Ramgaonkar to shoot "leopards identified as man-eaters". The attacks come as shrinking forest cover and the ever-expanding urban sprawl push leopards out of their natural habitat, into fields and villages in search of prey - fuelling the myth of them being "man-eaters". While the fear of attacks is ever present, the state's aggressive stand on containing the problem is in part prompted by political pressure building in the region, to end the "reign of terror" in the district. The state has thus intensified its efforts after a 13-year-old boy was killed in a leopard attack in Pimparkhed, sparking massive protests and demands for government action from local residents. Two days later, on November 4, the "man-eater leopard" was spotted. It was shot dead by national-level rifle shooters and volunteers in wildlife rescue. On Wednesday, Naik met the boy's family and assured the villagers of decisive measures to prevent further attacks. He said a proposal for leopard sterilisation has been sent to the central government. "Under this initiative, 50 leopards will soon be relocated to the Vantara facility. We are also exploring the possibility of transferring some leopards to other states or even to South Africa." Naik also announced plans to strengthen artificial intelligence-based early warning systems in both Pune and Ahilyanagar, similar to the model implemented in Chandrapur. "Soon, these regions will have an improved network of AI-enabled monitoring systems," the minister said....