Wildlife activists demand night traffic ban to continue at Bandipur Tiger Reserve

Mysuru: Over 2,000 people — including environmentalists, farmers, Raitha Sangha activists, and members of various environmental organisations — launched the ‘Bandipur Chalo’ or ‘Namma Nadige Bandipur Kadege’ padayatra this morning, protesting the proposed removal of the night traffic ban through Bandipur Tiger Reserve.

Held under the slogan “Let’s walk together and say ‘no’ to lifting the night traffic ban,” the padayatra began at the Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Kaggala Hundi, Gundlupet taluk, Chamarajanagar district.

The 2.5-km march concluded at the Maddur check-post, where a memorandum was submitted to Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) Naveen Kumar. Notably, environmentalists and legal environment activists from Bengaluru, Kerala and Tamil Nadu also joined the protests.

Noted wildlife photographers and conservationists Krupakar and Senani, Joseph Hoover, Saptha Girish, Ravi Keerthi, village heads and representatives of over 123 villages surrounding Bandipur and former Bandipur Director T. Balachandra took part in the protest.

The Supreme Court imposed a night traffic ban (9 am to 6 am) on two national highways — NH-181 (Mysuru-Ooty Road) and NH-766 (formerly NH-212, Kollegal-Kozhikode) — that pass through the core of the Tiger Reserve after studies showed a high number of wildlife deaths due to roadkill. The ban only permits four buses, ambulances and emergency vehicles during restricted hours.

Environmentalists allege that the Congress high command is pressuring the Karnataka Government to lift the ban — a long-standing demand of residents in Wayanad, now represented in the Lok Sabha by Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi. Similar efforts were made when Rahul Gandhi held the seat.

Conservationists warn that lifting the ban would gravely threaten wildlife in this ecologically sensitive region. They argue that unregulated night traffic could fuel illegal activities such as the smuggling of timber, gravel, M-sand and boulders, while also increasing the risk of poaching.

In the memorandum, they emphasised the ban’s crucial role in preserving the region’s rich biodiversity and protecting local communities.

Reduction in roadkill

Between 2004 and 2007, before the implementation of the night traffic ban, the highway was a virtual graveyard for wildlife. Data revealed that during this period, 91 mammals from 14 species, 75 birds from 18 species and 56 reptiles from 16 species were killed on the road by speeding vehicles — a toll higher than that of poaching.

However, since the night traffic ban’s enforcement, the situation has dramatically improved, with roadkill numbers dropping to just nine between 2022 and 2024, marking a 90 percent reduction.

Concerns have arisen following attempts by neighbouring Kerala to pressure authorities into lifting the ban, allegedly violating a Supreme Court order.

Environmentalists have warned that such a move could pave the way for illegal activities, including poaching, drug smuggling and gold trafficking, while also increasing the risk of human-animal conflicts in forest-adjacent areas. They have urged to maintain the night traffic ban and protect the region’s fragile ecosystem and community livelihoods.