Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
The attacks by honeybees on tourists in the world heritage Ajanta Caves area continue unabated. After attacking 200 tourists on Saturday, the bees attacked another 40 on Sunday. The attacks have been ongoing for three consecutive days. On Sunday, a team comprising officials from the Department of Forest (DoF) team visited the caves to prepare for relocating the beehives, but they had to return empty-handed as the bees were not present on the hives. The team is scheduled to revisit the caves on Monday, and if preparations are complete, the hives will be safely relocated the same day.
There has been a noticeable increase in attacks by aggressive honey bees in the Ajanta Caves area over the past few days. While there may be multiple reasons for this, the rising heat in recent days is believed to be one of the main factors. After around 200 tourists were injured on Saturday, another attack occurred on Sunday around 1.30 pm, injuring approximately 40 more tourists.
There are beehives located in Caves number 4, 9, 10, and 26. Being a holiday on Saturday, thousands of tourists visited the caves. Around 3.30 pm, bees attacked tourists near Cave No. 10, creating panic and chaos. Around 200 tourists were stung and injured. As a result, the ticket booking counter was temporarily closed.
On Sunday, again due to the holiday, large numbers of tourists arrived to visit the caves. Around 2 pm, bees once more attacked tourists near Cave No. 10, injuring around 40 of them. The injured received treatment at a nearby facility in Pimpaldari.
DoF team returned empty-handed on Sunday
Before relocating the aggressive honey bee hives, bamboo structures need to be erected at the site. A DoF team visited the caves on Sunday for this purpose. However, as the bees were not present on the hives until the afternoon, the team had to return empty-handed. Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF), Suvarna Mane, told the newspaper that the team will revisit Ajanta.