Mysuru: The inherent threat to Chamundi Hill and its fragile ecosystem from encroachers and land- sharks will soon be a thing of past as the Forest Department will fence the Chamundi Hill Territorial Forest Area to prevent entry and exit of people through the forest area. This fencing will also prevent wild animals from entering human habitat in the surroundings of the Hill.

The Chamundi Hill Forest is presently protected as Reserved Forest by the Karnataka State Forest Department. The overall Chamundi Hill Forest area is 1,516 acres. The Department that has already fenced the foothill area at Tavarekatte will now fence the village boundaries atop the Hill.

This morning, a team led by Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) Mysuru, Dr. K.C. Prashant Kumar visited Chamundi Hill to survey the area that has to be fenced.

Speaking to Star of Mysore, the DCF said that the chain-link mesh work will act as a boundary between the villages and the forest areas. “In all, 1.6 kilometres will be fenced at an estimated cost of Rs. 28 lakh and tenders have already been called. We intend to complete the works in a month-and-a-half,” he said.

This proposal was mooted by K.T. Hanumanthappa, when he was serving as DCF of  Mysuru. As per the proposal, construction of permanent 7 feet tall mesh fencing with angled iron rods will be taken up all along the boundary. “We had received many representations from the villagers to fence the village boundaries to prevent wild animals from entering the human habitats. Fencing will also prevent the extension of human settlements and will restrict them to their present areas,”

Dr. Prashant explained.

Many stone quarries and brick kilns operating in the past have been completely closed as the  Department erected a chain- link fence around the Reserve Forest during 1998-2003, under the aegis of the Indo-Norwegian Chamundi Hill Conservation and Management Project.

Department officials feel that ever-expanding suburbs of Mysuru are engulfing the green buffer zone and the foothills rapidly. The township atop Chamundi Hill is also expanding. Increased population pressure around the hill and atop is affecting the forest in many ways — forest fires, grazing, collection of flowers, medicinal plants and firewood.

Added to this is the problem of garbage, food left over by tourists or pilgrims, trash generated by villages are creating unhealthy conditions in the Hill surroundings. In addition, garbage contractors of Mysuru City Corporation are dumping garbage haphazardly over the foothills, in spite of many solid waste plants, officials said.

Range Forest Officer Govindaraju, DRFO Vijay Kumar, Guard Virupaksha and Watcher Madaiah were present during the DCF’s inspection.