It is the duty of each and every citizen to strive for the protection of the environment and wildlife in our surroundings, said Jayanagar MLA and Karnataka State Wildlife Board member Sowmya Redddy.
Speaking after inaugurating the photography exhibition and documentary screening programme organised by the Department of Forests as part of the 65th Wildlife Week at Srijana Auditorium here on Friday, Ms. Reddy said that reckless destruction of forests in the name of development had posed serious threat to the existence of different verities of wildlife species. A larger number of forest lands are being claimed for industrial, agricultural and commercial purposes, leading to serious imbalance, she said.
Ms. Reddy further stated that imbalance in nature was leading to the pollution of air, water, noise and soil. Besides the harmful impact on human life, destruction of environment, especially forest areas, it was leading to the loss of natural habitat and food for wild animals. As a result, many species were compelled to enter human habitat complicating the issue further. This may take a serious turn in the future if corrective measures are not taken at present. Considering the expansion of urban areas, it is also necessary to focus on preserving and conserving nature, wild species and vegetation in urban areas, she said.
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Later, speaking to presspersons, Ms. Reddy said it was necessary to protect eco-sensitive spots like Kappatagudda in Gadag district. To a query on attempts by the State government to withdraw the wildlife sanctuary tag to Kappatagudda hill range, she said governments may come and go but once forest and wildlife was gone, it was gone forever and everyone should be mindful of this fact.
Hubballi-Dharwad East MLA Abbayya Prasad, Dharwad Circle Forest Conservator Manjunath Chavan, Deputy Conservator of Forests Mahesh Kumar and others spoke at the programme.