Granite quarries threaten national park in Karnataka

Bengaluru, July 29 (IANS) Multiple granite quarries threaten the Bannerghatta National Park (BNP) near Bengaluru where a lone tiger was camera trapped, said the “Status of Tigers Co-predators and Prey in India” report.

“The park is threatened by multiple granite quarries operating around the national park. They are located alarmingly close to the critical elephant corridors inside the national park such as Kardikal-Madeswara corridor,” said the report.

As many as 22 camera traps were laid in the BNP which yielded 10 tiger images, out of which one big cat was identified.

To identify the tiger, as many as 1,004 trap nights were needed.

“Even though only one tiger was detected, this detection validates the importance of BNP as a stepping stone patch for maintaining the meta-population of tigers in this landscape,” highlighted the report.

However, senior forest official Subhash K. Melkhede said no quarrying is allowed near the park up to 1 km from the BNP’s boundary.

“Any mining and quarrying activity is banned up to 1 km from the boundary. This has been the policy of BNP from 1992,” Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Melkhede told IANS on Wednesday.

Even before the concept of an eco-sensitive zone had come up, Melkhede said Karnataka had already banned quarrying up to 1 km from the park.

However, he said the park had been reduced by 168.4 sq km on the side where the Jigani Industrial area falls.

“Government sub- committee in 2017 took a decision to reduce that side of BNP boundary. They have reduced it by 168.4 sq km. This has been approved by the Government of India high level expert committee,” he said.

The committee comprised of experts from the Wildlife Institute of India, Tiger Conservation Authority of India, Ministry of Environment Forests and Climate Change, subject matter experts and others.

Melkhede said the reduction was notified in March 2020.

“I think that is a settled issue now. There is nothing further to it. Notification including the boundary has been given. It is outside the forest area and does not have any effect inside the forest area. All along the boundary, no one can quarry or set up an industry,” he said.

He clarified that no eco-sensitive zone of the park was reduced.

The BNP was declared a national park in 1974 and a portion of the park was designated a biological reserve, Bannerghatta Biological Park, in 2002.

Measuring 260.51 sq km according to the report and located about 22 km south of the city, the BNP is situated in the hills of Anekal range.

It has a hilly terrain of granite sheets under moist deciduous forest valleys and scrubland.

Sixteen villages also border the park which is a part of the wildlife corridor for elephants and connects the BR Hills and Sathyamangalam forest.

It is also contiguous with Talli reserve forest in the southeast and Bilikal forest in the south.

–IANS

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