Committee to study carrying capacity of Bandipur forest, says Minister Khandre
BENGALURU: Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre on Thursday told the assembly that an expert committee would submit a report on the carrying capacity of Bandipur forest to the state government.
Khandre said the tiger count has gone up from 12 in 1972 to 175 but the forest size has been shrinking.
The government had stopped the safari owing to farmers highlighting the increasing number of man-animal conflicts. The safari has now resumed and 35 percent of the revenue will be used for public outreach programmes on education and health in 72 villages on forest fringes, said Khandre.
Khandre was replying to a question on man-animal conflicts. Leader of Opposition R Ashoka said over 4,000 people lost jobs when the safari was closed.
The minister said that Bandipur forest boundary is 314 km, of which about 100 km is a high conflict zone.
There is a command centre, 25 anti-poaching camps and 14-hour patrol is being carried out.
The minister said the safari was resumed on the basis of a preliminary report from an expert committee that included a representative from the Central Wildlife Institute.
Khandre also said there is disruption of elephant corridors due to infrastructure projects such as express highways as well as increase in elephant population.
Trekkers should buy tickets online
Khandre said trekkers visiting Kumaraparvatha near Kukke Subrahmanya must buy tickets online.
“The number of trekkers has been restricted to 150 per day to prevent overcrowding and accidents. Trekking is not allowed during monsoon due to heavy rains and in summer due to the risk of forest fires. Earlier, the 24-km trek from Subrahmanya to Kumaraparvatha required two days with an overnight stay, but due to wildlife movement, overnight stays were banned since 2024,” he said.