Days after boy killed in lion attack, Gujarat to deploy drones, trackers for pilgrims’ safety on Mount Girnar

4 min readAhmedabadUpdated: Jul 13, 2026 09:48 PM IST

The incident took place on the Datar hill which has a trek of around 3,000 steps in the Mount Girnar region. (File Photo)

The Gujarat government will deploy thermal drone cameras and 25 forest trackers along the pilgrim trek on Mount Girnar in Junagadh district to prevent incidents like that of July 11 when a lion dragged away an 11-year old boy, who was on his way to the temple on the peak along with his family, killing him.

The incident took place on the Datar hill which has a trek of around 3,000 steps in the Mount Girnar region.

The victim, identified as Mayur Chauhan, was from Modaj village in Kheda district. Eyewitnesses and relatives had said that the family had climbed only about 50 steps from the main entrance when the lion emerged from the darkness and attacked the child from behind, grabbing him by the arm and taking him away to the forest.

Following a meeting with forest officials, Forest and Environment Minister Arjun Modhwadia on Monday announced a range of decisions taken by the state government for the safety of pilgrims at Mount Girnar which include recruitment of 25 forest trackers, an SOP related to the movement of tourists in the region, permanent checkposts at sensitive areas and thermal drone surveillance.

The Girnar and Datar stairway routes will be declared as ‘Silence Zones’ to prevent unnecessary disturbance to wildlife and reduce the possibility of human-wildlife conflict, a statement said.

“Thermal drone surveillance will be conducted to continuously monitor wildlife movement across the entire area. Additionally, 25 trackers from the Forest Department will keep a permanent watch to ensure the safety of pilgrims on Mount Girnar,” the minister said.

Modhwadia also said that an extensive public awareness campaign will be conducted for pilgrims and local residents on how to behave in wildlife areas.

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The measures were taken in a meeting of top officials of the Forest department including Principal Secretary Vinod Rao, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests & Head of the Forest Force (HoFF) Jaipal Singh and Minister of State for Forest and Environment Pravin Mali. The meeting was chaired by Modhwadia.

The lion landscape of Gujarat has been witnessing increased incidents of man-wildlife conflict and at least six instances were reported where a person was killed or suspected to be killed by lions.

Interacting with media persons after the meeting, Modhwadia said that following the incident in which the 11-year-old boy was unfortunately killed, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel had given instructions to ensure safety of pilgrims at the site.

“Permanent check posts will be established at sensitive locations within the Girnar Sanctuary area where wildlife movement is high to ensure continuous monitoring. Additionally, a comprehensive Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) will be prepared and implemented under the chairmanship of the Junagadh District Collector, coordinating with all relevant administrative departments to ensure pilgrim safety, wildlife management, emergency response, and inter-departmental coordination in the Girnar area,” Modhwadia further said.

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Recent lion attacks in Gujarat

* July 11: 11-year-old boy was dragged away by a lion on Mount Girnar in Junagadh

* July 8: A 21-year-old man was dragged away and killed by a lion and lioness near Antaliya village in Amreli district.

* July 6: A lion attacked a cattle herder in Garajia village of Palitana, pinning him to the ground

* June 24: A child walking with his grandfather was dragged away by a lioness. His body was recovered from the forest area later.

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* June 17: A man did not return home in the Pipleshwar area in Bhavnagar. His body parts were recovered eight days later. He is suspected to have been preyed upon by a lion.

* June 16: A 25-year-old man in Kovaya village in Amreli was attacked when he went walking to his field. A part of his body was recovered.

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