State hopeful of lifting Bandipur Ban

• With a Supreme Court-appointed committee considering the measures proposed by the Centre for development of the ecosystem without impacting wildlife, Kerala is hopeful that the night traffic ban on National Highway 766 through the Bandipur Tiger Reserve may be lifted.
• The proposals have been submitted by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).
• several mitigative steps needed to be adopted if the apex court accepted the proposal to construct five elevated sections of one-km stretch, of which four will be at Bandipur and one in Wayanad on the highway.
• As per the plan, the metalled road portion underneath these elevated sections will be milled and converted into a forest landscape so as to maintain the continuity of the forest for the ease of movement of wildlife without any barrier.
• Besides, the State Forest Department has to provide land in exchange for the land re-converted into forest for the length of five km under the elevated sections in order to achieve a uniform right of way of 15 m.
• The wildlife departments of both States will jointly decide on the locations of elevated sections. The night-time restrictions on traffic will be lifted after the project is completed.

The Hindu October 24 2018