Every time we pass through a forest, the serenity cleanses us, But do we care enough for the inhabitants of those forests though? If you are also a wildlife lover like me, you would absolutely love the thrill of travelling through roads that pass through wildlife reserves and national forests with your eyes intently searching to spot something. But ever witnessed a dead animal lying on the roads in a pool of blood after having been run over? Frequent travellers to Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka have, and they have been absolutely haunting experiences for them.
Image Credit: indiatravelforum
The roads and highways which pass from amidst forests and animal reserves not only get heavily impacted by traffic, congestion and speeding of trucks, cars etc. but an array of species are killed on a daily basis by rash driving and irresponsible behavior. The kind of diversity we are proud of in India, includes not only cultures of different varieties but the wildlife we preserve within our forests. The Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka preserves its animals and has been doing so for over a decade through the ‘night ban on traffic’ on highways NH-67 and NH-212. This landmark decision was taken by the state authorities in the years 2009 and an alternative route was hence devised.
However, recent reports show that Kerala and Karnataka State authorities are now calling for a ban lift by the Supreme Court. The proposal of building a flyover every 2.5 KM inside the forest has been shelved. Conservationists and Wildlife experts have clearly pointed out the positive impact the ban had created on the wildlife in Bandipur. With the Center and Karnataka as well as Kerala ministers proposing the lifting of this ban, the Wildlife of the area would be immensely affected and perhaps killed at a higher rate.
Wildlife enthusiasts are not at all happy about this proposal and a group of wildlife lovers marched from Bangalore in silent protest at the Freedom Park on Sunday.
“We signed a memorandum to oppose the proposal of construction of roads/elevated highway and discontinuing the ban on night time traffic inside the Bandipur Forest Area.
The protest was not against the government, in fact in support of the honourable Chief Minister’s statement in which he has reassured that none of the above mentioned will be allowed. All, we as wildlife lovers, want is for our government to stick to it and not concede to pressure from any of the sources.
A few pointers that we would want to put forth,
- Construction: will take its own time to complete, during that period the amount of Man – Animal conflict cases are bound to spike
- Ban Night traffic: The arrangements are already, by means of an alternate route. But why this push to extend the time is
We, in Karnataka, boast of a pristine wildlife environment and the Bandipur range is symbolic of this extreme Biodiversity. This biodiversity can suffer an irreparable damage if we don’t act now.
The signed memorandum will be presented to the CM’s office with the hope of conserving the Bandipur Forest Area.”
From: Shamanth, Harish, Santhosh, Amal, Bala, Romel and several other wildlife enthusiasts.
Image Credit: eyewitnesnews
Wildlife biologists such as Sanjay Gubbi point out that the vehicular traffic rate is increasing in India by 10-12%. With this slated to increase even further, the preservation of the wildlife is of utmost necessity. Forest conservation and sustainable development are key to maintain healthy ecosystems functioning in the world of crisis. The night traffic ban in Karnataka on those two highways was a landmark and historic decision which impacted in positive statistics taking over. This ban, in turn, had put checks on smuggling, illegal transportation and other unwanted activities as well. The ban has not only cleared some very important issues other than wildlife preservation but the frequency of road kills have diminished as well.
The pristine environment and the ecosystems need to be protected. They need to be looked after as well. This issue needs voices to be raised, marches to be lead and appeals to hold steadfast!
