Greens oppose widening of road in hilly ranges

Environmentalists have opposed the widening and concretisation of the road connecting Seethalayyanagiri to Mullayyanagiri.

The district administration had earlier said that it will not to widen the road and fell trees.

Bhadra Wildlife Conservation Trust Trustee D V Girish, Sridev Hulikere of Wild Cat-C and Wildlife activist G Veeresh said, “Unscientific work on the road has been started from Seethalayyanagiri to Mullayyanagiri. The work on upgrading 1.5-km road from Kemmannugundi to Lingadahalli has been taken up.”

“In the name of the road, the hills are being chopped paving way for landslides during monsoon. The road work will affect the Shola forest and wildlife. There is no need for widening of the road from Seethalayyanagiri to Mullayyanagiri,” they said.

One needs to think twice before taking up any work in ecologically sensitive areas in Bababudangiri hilly range, they said.

Thousands of vehicles are parked in the hilly region during weekends and holidays. Hence, the district administration was earlier urged to allow parking of vehicles only around Kaimara and it should run minibuses to the hills. But it has not taken any steps in this regard. The district administration should now take steps to protect the hilly range and the wildlife, the environmentalists have urged.