The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Elusive crocodile is talk of the town

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Wednesday, Nov 10, 2010
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Elusive crocodile is talk of the town

Staff Reporter

People flock Nanakramguda to get a glimpse of the reptile

— PHOTO: NAGARA GOPAL

Spot the croc: People turned up in large numbers at Nanakramguda on Tuesday to watch the crocodile.

HYDERABAD: This is one game of hide and seek people seem to enjoy perfectly. A day after news spread over spotting of a crocodile in a pond at Nanakramguda, the locality turned into a picnic spot on Tuesday as people turned up in large numbers to watch the reptile and witness efforts of forest authorities to trap it.

Travellers going towards airport on the Outer Ring Road made a compulsory stop to enquire about happenings at the pond that was formed by digging of soil for construction of a commercial cellar adjacent to Outer Ring Road.

“It's rare that a crocodile surfaces in a pond so close to human habitat. There is lot of curiosity and I just could not stop myself from arriving here,” said Mukunda, a private employee, who halted for a while at the site on the way to his office at Gachibowli.

Despite a no entry rule for two-wheelers on the Outer Ring Road, many descended on the site via Gachibowli main road.

Parking their vehicles on the road side, people, particularly youngsters even relaxed in the lawns along the road and observed the efforts of authorities to catch the crocodile and shift it to a safe place.

Taking advantage, petty vendors selling guavas turned up at the site and made brisk business. Soon as the crocodile surfaced on the water, youngsters cheered, whistled and clapped.

But as the reptile disappeared back into the water, there was disappointment all around.

Irked with the public, a police constable quipped, “this locality has turned into a picnic spot and people seem to have a good time”. The flow of visitors to the site continued right from the strike of dawn and it was only the drizzle late in the evening that forced many leave the place.

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Andhra Pradesh