Two metres. That’s the distance between forest and concrete jungle. There are no clear boundaries separating Gurukripa Society and the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. And the notice, cautioning people that it’s an offence to enter the park, seems to make no difference. Two days after a leopard mauled a resident of the society, Kuldeep Singh Chalal, morning walkers were back in the park on Sunday.‘‘I just went up with all my friends at 5 am,’’ says Baljeet Singh (40). His explanation: ‘‘You see, the leopards don’t attack in the day.’’Residents say 60-year-old Chalal had been going to the park at 3.30 am every day for the last 25 years, and nothing ever happened.‘‘Of course, we’re scared of the leopards, but we can’t do anything about them. We have informed the Forest Department, but they don’t seem bothered,’’ says Darjeet Kumar Singh, another resident.Deputy Conservator of the park A.R. Bharati says residents should never enter the Malabar and Yogi hills as they are part of the national park. ‘‘It is unfortunate that we have still not been able to build a boundary wall around the forest due to slum encroachments,’’ he added.But the notice cautioning people is just a kilometre away from Gurukripa Society. There’s also a gate and a stone path leading to an illegal recreational park that has a shed and cement benches. When the local residents were asked who had built it, the reply was, ‘‘Some local politician.’’Meanwhile, Chalal’s nephew and former cricketer Balwinder Singh Sandhu says it’s sad that the wall issue has still not been solved. ‘‘Politicians are only bothered about their votes, which are in the slums. They are not interested in the problems of the common man. Until a politician is carried away by a leopard, nothing will happen,’’ he adds.While some like Singh ventured into the park as usual, others were gripped by fear. Subhash Singh Salariya, who has a garment business and lives in the neighbourhood, says he’s had enough. ‘‘I’m leaving this place and shifting residence,’’ he mumbles.
