Resistance is building up over reports that the Karnataka government is inclined to lift the night traffic ban on national highway 766, which runs through the Bandipur tiger reserve. The 9 pm to 6 am ban, imposed by Karnataka in 2009, has helped to drastically reduce roadkills on the 20-km stretch of the highway connecting Mysuru in Karnataka and Wayanad in Kerala, and along NH-181 connecting Gundlupete in Karnataka and Ooty in Tamil Nadu. A total of eight buses and, if required, ambulances are allowed to ply at night. The Bandipur reserve, spread over 872 sq km in Karnataka’s Chamarajanagar district, is rich in biodiversity and home to tigers, elephants, deer, sloth bears and gaurs.
For years, Karnataka and Kerala have been at odds over the night ban, with Kerala seeking free vehicular movement through the reserve to avoid a 45-km detour. Kerala challenged the ban, but the Supreme Court upheld it in 2019 and suggested that Karnataka should develop an alternative route to Kerala. Now, a Wayanad native has petitioned the top court to lift the ban. Karnataka countered it with an affidavit that NH-766 could be permanently closed once the elevated state highway 88 was completed as an alternative, which cost the state Rs 75 crore. Then, suddenly, it withdrew the counter-affidavit, raising suspicions that political factors were at play. Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had, as part of her election manifesto, promised to have the night ban lifted, and this had been echoed by Deputy CM D K Shivakumar. The Siddaramaiah government now appears to be caught between political compulsions and its forest policy. This has angered environmentalists, who have started online campaigns and padayatras to pressure the government to maintain status quo.
Karnataka would do well to keep the bigger picture in mind. Travellers have many alternatives—day journeys, night trains and other roads. Kerala—especially Wayanad, which faced devastating landslides last year—ought to be more sensitive towards the environment. After over 100 acres of urban forest were denuded in Hyderabad’s Kancha Gachibowli, Telangana CM Revanth Reddy was held responsible. The Congress needs to rethink its outlook on ecology and take the side of conservation. If it continues to root for lifting the night ban in Bandipur, it risks being labelled ‘anti-green’ and losing support among the eco-conscious.