People in these villages routinely encounter big cats that stray into their farms from the adjoining Pilibhit Tiger Reserve, a bustling habitat for the Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris).

For a 25-year-old Manjeet Chauhan stuck in Silkyara tunnel survival hinged on a picture of his parents and words of a lost brother, whom he took as a role model after his death in an accident last year.

The local, district and police administration are reaching out to meat traders to ensure this, officials said.

A 27-year-old burqa-clad woman, who is an instant talaq victim, is campaigning for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls to make the Muslim women realise the "good work" being done by the saffron party in the state. Nida Khan believes that unlike other parties, the BJP does not see Muslims as a vote bank only but considers them as equals.