Several villages lying adjacent to forest areas in Kerala are in a state of panic with summer heat and drought pushing leopards, elephants and king cobras out of the jungles. At least two human lives have already been lost due to leopard attacks in the recent past and accidental deaths of elephants wandering out of forests have also been reported in the past few days.
The night traffic ban on the highway through Bandipur will stay. The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday quashed the order of deputy commissioner, Chamarajanagar, dated June 10, 2009, lifting the ban along the National Highway (NH) 212, connecting Gundlupet-Mudhumalai and NH-67 connecting Gundlupet-Wayanad.
Challenging the night traffic ban on National Highway 67 through the Bandipur National Park, respondents from Kerala submitted to the High Court on Monday that Karnataka cannot implement the ban as there is no alternative motorable road connecting the two States.
There is one thing that the government appears to be in a blinding hurry to accomplish: depleting its emerald wealth at the cost of accelerated development.
The State Forest department has opposed lifting the ban on night traffic on National Highway-212 connecting Gundlupet and Ooty and National Highway-67 Connecting Gundlupet-Sultan Batheri, on the ground that it would endanger a crucial tiger habitat.
In a major setback to environmentalists striving for a permanent night traffic ban on the national highways passing through Bandipur reserve forest, the Union Ministry of Surface Transport has directed the State National Highways to take steps to ensure uninterrupted traffic on these routes.
The High Court has directed the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to come out with an alternative solution in connection with the night traffic ban in Bandipur National Park.
Subhash Chandra NS, Bangalore, Jan 26, DH News Service:
The Deputy Commissioner of Chamarajanagar Manoj Kumar Meena, with his contrary orders related to the night traffic ban on two highway roads passing through Bandipur national park, has puzzled the wildlife enthusiasts.
A total of 11 tigers and five leopards were spotted in Bandipur National Tiger Reserve and Biligiri Ranganathaswamy Temple (BRT) reserved forest on Sunday, the third day of tiger census.
It's raining big cats in Karnataka. On Day 3 of the Tiger Census, volunteers reported over 15 direct tiger sightings. The state has the second highest population of tigers in the country after MP, according to the last tiger census.
