Kali Tiger Reserve, it seems, is becoming confined to a cocooned island of its own between major infrastructure projects.
While the proposal to widen National Highway 4A (connecting Belagavi to Panaji) gathers steam, the Indian Railways has sought doubling its line from Hosapete to Vasco.
The widening will claim nearly 2.22 hectares (or 5.5 acres) of lush forest land around the tiger reserve in the first phase, while the second phase (between Castle Rock and Caranzol on the Goa–Karnataka border) will see another 7.64 hectares (nearly 19 acres) of forest land being cleared.
The first phase proposal has been forwarded to the State Board for Wildlife and will be taken up in the next meeting, a senior Forest official has said.
Though the project has been recommended by Forest officers, the recommendation letter from the Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF) of the region lists 552 animal species in the area. The reserve has submitted a report saying that 532 trees will be removed, while there was concern of soil erosion and impact on critically endangered species. However, improved connectivity for north Karnataka and ports of Goa as well as “helps the nations under strategic conditions”, have been listed as reasons for approval.
The reasoning, however, has not cut ice with activists. “The railway line passes through the Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttara Kannada district, which is an important tiger and elephant habitat. This will eventually lead to fragmentation of wildlife habitat and escalate man-animal conflict,” said wildlife activist Giridhar Kulkarni.
This adds to the long list of infrastructure projects that bifurcates or skirts the eco-sensitive tiger reserve. The proposed Hubbali–Ankola railway line cuts through Yellapur in the southern end of Uttara Kannada. In the past five years, nearly 70 mammals have been run over by vehicles or trains in and around the tiger reserve, show documents obtained under the Right to Information Act.
Forest officials said that as only a “small” extent of land was asked for, the track-doubling was expected to be approved.
The proposal, however, has a long way to go. After approval from State Board for Wildlife, it will be presented before the National Board for Wildlife, National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Supreme Court.
