Rahul Gandhi to join hunger strike against night traffic ban in Bandipur forest area

The Kerala government has been demanding that the night traffic ban on the highway passing through Bandipur Tiger Reserve be relaxed, which environmentalists oppose.
Rahul Gandhi to join hunger strike against night traffic ban in Bandipur forest area
Rahul Gandhi to join hunger strike against night traffic ban in Bandipur forest area

Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi has registered his opposition against the contentious night traffic ban in Bandipur Tiger Reserve.

Taking to Twitter, Rahul Gandhi who is also an MP from Wayanad, has said that he will join youth groups backed by both the Congress and the Left parties in Kerala in their hunger strike against the night traffic ban on October 3.

Rahul had faced criticism earlier as well when he had spoken in favour of lifting the ban.

The Kerala government has demanded for years that the night traffic ban be relaxed on this highway that connects Wayanad and Mysuru. 

However, earlier in August, the Supreme Court had upheld the ban which has been in place since 2009, much to the relief of environmentalists in both Kerala and Karnataka.

The existing ban on traffic after dark came into effect in 2009 when the Karnataka High Court was hearing a case pertaining to roadkill. At least 215 animals were killed due to traffic between 2004 and 2007, the court had contended, leading to the decision.

Prior to the Supreme Court order, the National Tiger Conservation Authority, in March 2018, had also advised the Union government against moving ahead with an elevated corridor project in the same area for the adverse effects it could have on the forest habitat, where over a hundred tigers currently reside. 

TNM on Thursday had also reported on a communique from the Union government reiterating that the elevated corridor project cannot be undertaken on ecological grounds – much to the cheer of environmentalists. This was a response to the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan writing to the Union government, offering to fund half of the project, which, the chief minister said, would benefit residents of Wayanad, Kozhikode and Malappuram districts. 

Currently, only a limited number of government-run buses and emergency vehicles are allowed to operate during the restricted period of 9 pm to 6 am on the stretch. During this period motorists take an alternative route via Hunsur-Gonikoppal-Kutta-Mananthavady Road, which is around 30 km longer.

A top Karnataka Forest Department official said, “The Kerala government’s stand (to allow traffic through the Reserve at night) has been same over the years even though their Forest Department agrees with us. This is more of a political stance more than anything else as there is already an existing bypass which is just 30-40 km longer. But we need not worry, the Supreme Court has made it clear tiger habitats cannot be touched and other options have to be explored.”

Kerala-based environmentalists echoed the same view. President of Wayanad Prakruti Samrakshana Samiti N Badusha said that present traffic ban on the highway has to continue until governments find an alternative.

"Politicians, religious groups, and various other groups with vested interest are very active in boosting this baseless rumour,” Badusha said, referring to the rumour that the highway would be closed forever, compelling people to reroute through hundreds of kilometres to cross the Kerala-Karnataka border. “As a consequence of this, farmer groups and students are blindly being led to take part in the protest and strikes which is presently grabbing attention from all over the country," he added in a statement.

Others, meanwhile, argue in favour of lifting the traffic ban.

"Wayanad doesn't have any other means of transport other than this road. If this highway is closed, our trade, tourism industry and our livelihood will sink. After floods, tourism was one of the main means of livelihood here. If this ban persists, we will have to migrate," Advocate Sudheesh, a DYFI leader, told TNM. He also said that local people's voice was not being heard in the country’s top courts.

"The present highway consists of 19 kilometres of forest; the proposed alternative consists of 25 kilometres. Upgrading to an alternative route will also require road widening and destruction of the forest," he argued.

Sudheesh said that the present move to close the highway will trouble farmers, labourers and students who cross the borders for their necessities. 

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