Alipiri Walkway Man-eater Attack: TTD Announces Restrictions for Young Devotees, Bikers

Tirumala: In the wake of a man-eater attack on a six-year-old girl Lakshitha in Tirumala on Friday, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) board has decided to restrict the children under 15 from using the Alipiri footpath to Tirumala temple in the evening. 

Considering the safety of the young devotees to the hill shrine, the TTD board has said from Monday onwards children will be allowed to trek the Alipiri footpath between 5 am and 2 pm. The TTD officials have implemented various safety measures along the footpath which includes no entry for two-wheelers after 6 pm on the second ghat road. 

Earlier this week, Lakshitha and her family were taking the Alipiri footpath to a hill shrine and a big cat mauled her to death. According to the CCTV footage installed at the entry point, the girl was far ahead of her family and alone when the wild animal pounced on her. The police found the half-eaten body of the minor on Saturday morning. 

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The forest officials are still not sure whether the beast that attacked the girl was a leopard or a bear. A team of TTD security, local police and forest officials have launched a search operation for the wild animal. The forest officials have decided to capture using the tranquillisers if the animal was a bear or use  a bone trap if it was a big cat. 

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