New Delhi/ Mysuru: The Centre has decided to construct an underground tunnel to connect Mysuru and Kerala via the Bandipur Tiger Reserve.
Since 2009, Kerala has been demanding Karnataka to lift the night ban imposed on the entry and exit of vehicles via the Tiger Reserve from 9 pm to 6 am. The ban, according to Kerala government, has hampered the State’s economy. At present, there is a ban on night traffic on NH-212 that connects Karnataka to Kerala via Gundlupet in Chamarajanagar and on NH-67 that links Karnataka to Tamil Nadu.
In view of the night traffic ban, the Centre has decided to find an alternative to connect Karnataka and Kerala through a tunnel without disturbing the flora and fauna. The distance between Bandipur and Sultan Batheri in Kerala is about 36 kilometres and the tunnel will be constructed only in the forest area.
Before clearing the ecologically high-impact project, the Centre will constitute a technical committee comprising experts and environmentalists to study the pros and cons of the project. The committee will also collect opinions from Karnataka and Kerala on the ecological impact and benefits of such a project.
The Centre has expressed its desire to construct the tunnel before the Supreme Court yesterday and Attorney General K.K. Venugopal made the submission before a Division Bench. Venugopal told the Bench that the exact distance of the tunnel will be known only after the technical committee submits its report.
Hearing the Attorney General’s submission, the SC Bench asked him to direct the Centre to constitute the technical committee within four weeks and ask it to submit its report by the end of July this year.
The Centre has decided to construct the tunnel only at the place where the animal concentration is less and parts of the Bandipur Sanctuary will be used for the purpose.
While there have been road kills since the ban on night traffic was imposed, they have come down drastically even as Bandipur and Nagarahole helped Mysuru achieve the distinction of being the tiger capital of the world. Apart from a significant decrease in the number of fatalities, the ban has allowed wild animals their space, said Forest Department officers.
They said that number of road kills may be underestimated as many injured animals drag themselves off to die in the nearby shrubbery. Some carcasses are scavenged by other animals, which also fall prey to speeding vehicles. The total number of animals being killed on roads running through Bandipur and Nagarahole is unknown.
This post was published on January 11, 2018 6:59 pm