The spike in man-animal conflict around Bandipur, which is inimical to wildlife conservation, is suspected to be a fallout of illegal quarrying close to Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) around the national park.
There are more than 150 villages around Bandipur, but the Omkara and Hediyala ranges are among the worst-affected by conflicts as both elephants and tigers tend to stray into human habitats there, resulting in casualties.
While it is common for animals to stray out of their natural habitat looking for fodder and water, the people of Hasgoli village and Raghavapura village in Begur hobli in Gundlupet taluk have introduced a new angle to it. They have alleged that the district administration has issued permission for quarrying and the movement of heavy-duty trucks and blasting were forcing animals out of the forests.
They have also apprised the Deputy Commissioner of Chamarajanagar and Forest Department officials of their apprehensions and stated that the said land in the village was a gomala meant for community use and grazing. According to the villagers, even cattle from the surrounding villages of Ramapura and Manchahalli is brought to the gomala land adjoining Hasgoli for grazing, but the recent quarrying activities have been disturbing the animals as well.
The villagers also fear that fragments of rocks land on the adjoining fields and damage the standing crop while the deafening sound created by the blasts disorient the animals, who run helter-skelter and end up too close to the villages.
Memorandum
When contacted, the director of Bandipur National Park, Ambadi Madhav, told The Hindu that he had received a memorandum from the local community on the matter and sought an inquiry into the allegations. “If the area comes under the ESZ as stated by the villagers, then we will step in to put an end to this immediately. But in case it is outside the ESZ boundary, we will request the district administration to act on the matter,” he said.
A wildlife activist, on condition of anonymity, said the recent incident in which a bear strayed to Sunnada Beguru was also attributed to the disturbance caused by quarrying. The animal was captured and relocated to Moolehole.
“Though there is no granite quarrying, jelly quarrying takes place close to the ESZ and exacerbates the conflict situation. The site may be off the ESZ limits, both legally and technically, but it is still too close to the wildlife habitat,” he said.
