BENGALURU: Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy reiterated his government’s stand on not allowing night traffic at Bandipur National park. Kumaraswamy took to Twitter to say that he was against the Union government’s proposal to create elevated roads within the park and said that the state government will continue to oppose the move.
“Our environmentalists and pro-nature activists are protesting against the Central government suggestion to allow night traffic at Bandipur National Park. I promise that our government will oppose the proposed flyover at the park. We are for conserving nature. Our commitment to protect Bandipur remains,” Kumaraswamy said in the tweet from the official Chief Minister’s Twitter handle.
On Saturday, environmentalists and nature lovers from across the state as well as Wayanad and other regions of Kerala joined a protest at the Maddur range checkpost at the Bandipur tiger reserve under the banner of #SaveBandipur and staged a silent protest against the Centre’s proposal to construct elevated corridors in the park which has a sizeable population of tigers and elephants.
The protests also gathered steam in Mysuru and Chamarajanagar districts where activists voiced concern about allowing night-time traffic through the park and the harmful effect it would have on the animal population.
The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had approached the Supreme Court to open National Highway 212 that passes through Bandipur during the night and had suggested the construction of four elevated corridors of 1 km length each with humps and road signage.