[Sportsmind]

I bet this is going to be a mess. The check post stretch close to S bathery, gets jamed in normal senarios, with trucks lined up and some other guys trying to over take. I have gone through this couple of times. Just heard from the guys who run the maximum buses on this sector, that the closure of the road has been withheld till furthur notice. If someone going across to calicut this weekend will give us the actual senario out there.

[RajeshK]

This is a big blow to people who all are from northern side of Kerala traveling overnight. Presently, the Makkutta road is already blocked fully for repair and now all roads from Mysore to Wayanadu is restricted. This will make any night travel impossible even in any emergency conditions..!!

The only open road will be Hunsur - Gonikuppa - Kutta - Manathawadi, but this is a narrow lane with rough surface. At some parts, the road is completly damaged.

I wish the roads will be open for 24/7, let forest department enforce other measures to save the wildlife.

[discoverwild]

Originally Posted by RajeshK

I wish the roads will be open for 24/7, let forest department enforce other measures to save the wildlife.

What other measures??

[Ramp]

Originally Posted by discoverwild

What other measures??

Guys, i was there in Bandipur / Mudumalai / Masinagudi for about 4 nights and 3 days @ last week and didn't get notice of any rules for transportation at the night times. Found lot of trucks and even tourist buses on the road at night.

Even at Mudumalai - Masinagudi - Ooty stretch which is always closed between 8PM to 6AM, is been opened for tourists after the exchange of 20Rs.

[balan]

Ok
Here is how it usually works
The government announces the stopping of traffic.
The decision makes wildlife lobby happy
Then the transport lobby "meets" the government and applies for a stay order at court.
Court grants stay. Government feigns helplessness.
Transport lobby is happy.
Wildlife lobby is dejected but satisfied the government tried its best.

Only in this case, the transport lobby (esp from Kerala) was so strong that they didnt have to go for a stay order.

If they had approached the court, then atleast we could have fought for a judgment this way or that way. The only option now is for the wildlife lobby to approach the court. But government can stall things as it has announced a tripatriate talks with Nilgiris distrcit admin, wayanad dist admin and chamrajnagar dist admin.

Kenneth Anderson Nature Society volunteers tried to meet up with Chamrajnagar DC but couldnt as he doesnt work on saturday, when we had a traffic awareness campaign during night at Kakkanalla check post.

KANS has been proposing a speed breaker every 1/2 km inside the forest at vantage points to reduce the speed and animal kill but the NHAI and forest department are not acting on it

Best regards
Bala

[Roy.S]

Originally Posted by balan

KANS has been proposing a speed breaker every 1/2 km inside the forest at vantage points to reduce the speed and animal kill but the NHAI and forest department are not acting on it....

Thats a terrible idea. I'm sure you've seen how much good speed breakers have done in Blr.
I wholeheartedly support closing the road at night, though. No half measures will work, esp in our country. And you can forget about trying to spread awareness and sensitivity among a bunch who just don't care.

Originally Posted by RajeshK

....I wish the roads will be open for 24/7, let forest department enforce other measures to save the wildlife.

Care to suggest a few? Perhaps the forest department could pass out pamphlets to the animals instead to try and educate them on how to cross the roads.

[COUGAR]

speed breakers/partial closure, none of it is going to help in the long run. All talk of humans and animals living in harmony is bull. Wild animals and humans can stay next to each other, but not together.

To truly make a difference, human interaction has to be bought down to ZERO. I have personally seen how even the partial closure at night is violated on the Tamil Nadu side: a simple 50 rupee note is enough to make the guards open the gates. And it has come to my notice that some private estates running homestays in the Masinagudi/Gudalur area organise "midnight expeditions" for foreign tourists at night and these fellows merrily make their way up and down the supposedly closed highway at night.

The only solution is to close off the roads altogether. There are alternate routes to go to Kerala from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu so its not like a closure will bring economic downfall. This area is of critical importance from the conservation perspective being a part of teh Nilgiri biosphere so a complete closure of the road will not be a big sacrifice in the larger scheme of things.

If they had approached the court, then atleast we could have fought for a judgment this way or that way. The only option now is for the wildlife lobby to approach the court. But government can stall things as it has announced a tripatriate talks with Nilgiris distrcit admin, wayanad dist admin and chamrajnagar dist admin.

Kenneth Anderson Nature Society volunteers tried to meet up with Chamrajnagar DC but couldnt as he doesnt work on saturday, when we had a traffic awareness campaign during night at Kakkanalla check post.

Why do you have to wait for someone else to take the first step: govt or Transport lobby or whoever? You (or a NGO on ur behalf) can file a case and make the govt a respondent!

As some of us have found out, the only way to make the govt act on an issue like wildlife conservation is to relentlessly put it on the defensive. Otherwise wildlife is considered too low priority for the govt to be proactive. Ultimately its upto people like us to act.

[addyhemmige]

+1 to that Cougar, Roy & Bala.


While we are passionate about wheels, it is also important to consider sensitivities of others as well.

For those who don't know, just google Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve and you will find who the decision will actually benefit. This region is one of the last few remaining contiguous forest tracts left in the whole world let alone in India.

Why do you think roads in these areas are closed? Do you think that the guys who are operating the road are making money? Don't you think there is a cause in closing the road? FYI, People are not making money by closing these roads here.

I have seen this highway at night and I have seen too many idiotic drivers. the only way to control them is to close the road at least at night. As I have said earlier, 'When wildlife is forced to make compromises, why can't we????"

[royalcruiser]

The Bandipur-Mudumalai (Tamil Nadu) and Bandipur-Sultan Bathery (Kerala) road stretches will soon be rid of most inter-state vehicles during the night.

The Karnataka High Court on Monday issued interim directions, staying a June 10 government order to withdraw the ban on vehicular movement imposed by local authorities.

Vehicular movement leads to killing of rare and endangered animals. File photoA division bench comprising Chief Justice P D Dinakaran and Justice V G Sabhahit stayed the withdrawal order on a petition by L Srinivasa Babu, a City-based lawyer and party-in-person, who had challenged the government’s decision to lift the ban. The Deputy Commissioner of Chamrajanagar had ordered a ban on vehicular movement on June 3, 2009, as a protective measure to prevent road kills of rare wildlife on the two busy stretches. But this order was withdrawn within seven days. Challenging the order in the High Court, the petitioner contended that the withdrawal was due to political pressure and to please truck owners. The stretch of about 30 km passed through the Bandipur Tiger Reserve and National Park, which needed to be protected.

The petitioner reasoned that vehicular movement disturbed wildlife and had even led to the killing of hundreds of rare and endangered animals every year. By allowing vehicles along the stretches, the wildlife in the sanctuary near the roads up to 2 km would be disturbed, he contended. The petitioner said the routes would be just 15 km long compared with the existing roads.

DH News Service

Night travel ban through Bandipur restored

[hvkumar]

Now you can bet that the pent-up convoy of innumerable trucks and buses starting off in the morning (when the gates open) will scare the animals out of Bandipur and Mudumalai completely!

[Shaddow.Fax]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Now you can bet that the pent-up convoy of innumerable trucks and buses starting off in the morning (when the gates open) will scare the animals out of Bandipur and Mudumalai completely!

Any idea if they have started to implement this?

[Sportsmind]

Originally Posted by Shaddow.Fax

Any idea if they have started to implement this?

The Ban is effective from tonight on the The mysore waynad Bandipur forest stretch. Tourist bus operators on this stretch is planning alternative route, which could most likley be calicut-vadakara-tellicherry-Mattanur-Virajpet-Gonikuppal-Hunsur-srirangapatna- mandya-Bengaluru. An additional of 2 hrs travel i guess and the worst of roads. Has anyone used this route after the recent rains.

[shankar.balan]

i support this move.

Indeed they should completely remove all vehicular access through the Wildlife Sanctuary permanently. But, they should provide proper alternate routes for those wanting to go up to Ooty/ Sultan Battery area from Mysore/ Chamrajnagar.

As per normal, it is always a NO WIN situation - till the respective lazy state governments actually bestir themselves and create a proper alternate access road for people.

The other way to handle this is to completely ban all public transport and heavy lorry, tourist van, tourist bus type traffic on this stretch and only allow private cars, vans and LMV's through while at the same time implementing the construction of proper, banked speed breakers at intervals of every half km on the entire stretch of road. Plus - there should be a fine of 25000/- PLUS 7 years rigorous imprisonment without the option of bail, for every idiot who litters the jungle with food packets, bottles and whatnot. For every idiot tourist van which stops in the sanctuary for its inmates to leap around, drink, dance and picnic, there should be a fine of Rs 50,000/- per offender and 10 years of rigorous imprisonment.

This will atleast ensure that people are forced to respect the jungle and care for it, including driving slowly- after all, what is the great hurry to pass through the jungle - we rush around enough in our normal daily boring lives without having to rush around even during our road trips!

And Humans are anyway guilty of ruining the environment practically anywhere and everywhere they go - at least let us consciously try and preserve our Nilgiri Biosphere in a proper manner.

In my opinion, to ensure discipline amongst these offenders, they should introduce the conscription law, where every Individual Indian has to go through compulsory Military Service of at least 2 years when aged between 18-23 years. If nothing else, this will atleast instill a sense of pride in our country and a sense of discipline in our wandering minds.

all this may seem draconian and dictatorial to some, but it is the only way according to me, to enforce a healthy respect for the law.

[ajithvpl]

Even though I do support the move. But feel its just an eyewash, Forest department still continue to conduct the Jungle Safaris right into the habitat of wild animals.
I am not sure why they aren't banned too? Won't that affect the wildlife too?

[beejay]

Closing the road off completely is not a good solution. Without public transport at least during the day, how will the public go to Mysore and Bangalore.
This is a big worry for many of the people who are employed in Bangalore. They will find it hard as they had completely relied on the KA.S.R.T.C night bus. There needs to be at least one bus which needs to be allowed.
Speed breaker every half km is not a good idea either. On the whole this is not the right move.

Rather, during the nights they should allow at least one Govt bus to ply these roads.