Bannerghatta's wildlife under threat: Activists decry Eco-Sensitive Zone cuts, Satellite Town Ring Road flyover

Bengaluru: Environmental and wildlife activists call for immediate action to protect Bannerghatta National Park (BNP), warning that a combination of infrastructure projects and the reduction of its Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) is severely fragmenting what they call the living bridge of South India's wildlife.

At a press conference, organised by the Bannerghatta Nature Conservation Trust (BNCT) on Saturday, activists highlighted existential threats to the park, which acts as a crucial corridor linking the forests of the Western and Eastern Ghats, including the Mysore Elephant Reserve, Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, and Bandipur National Park.

BNCT's Kiran Urs, a wildlife photographer, stressed that the park's connectivity is vital for the movement and genetic exchange of wide-ranging species like elephants and tigers. "Saving these corridors is important because their destruction due to urbanisation and infrastructure projects threatens wildlife movement and increases human-wildlife conflict," Urs said.

ESZ reduction and infrastructure threat:

Another activist Bhanuprakash said that the primary concerns revolve around the 2018 Central government notification that reduced BNP’s Eco-Sensitive Zone from 268.9 sq km to 168.84 sq km, a reduction of about 100 sq km. This reduction, which reportedly excluded areas with existing stone quarries, is feared to have opened up previously protected buffer zones to mining and commercial activities.

Adding to the ecological pressure is the ongoing construction of the National Highways Authority of India's (NHAI) six-lane elevated flyover, part of the Satellite Town Ring Road (STRR) project, crossing a 3.85 km stretch of the park’s core and buffer zones. While the project has National Board of Wildlife clearance, critics argue that 'technological mitigation' like sound barriers and underpasses are insufficient.

Also a proposal to construct an airport near the Bannerghatta-Kanakapura belt, adjacent to the ESZ, was strongly opposed, with BNCT Founder Vishnu Narain stating that such a development would be an unsustainable development model and the consequences include habitat fragmentation, cutting off vital wildlife corridors for elephants, leopards and tigers. It will cause noise and light pollution, water table depletion, and loss of biodiversity and forest cover, accelerating degradation of the forest cover, he noted.

A six-point demand

The activists collectively demanded the government take six urgent steps:

1. The restoration of the 100 sq km ESZ,

2. A re-evaluation of the STRR flyover for an alternative alignment outside the forest,

3. The removal of illegal resorts 

4. The dropping of the airport development proposal,

5. The reactivation of a park Monitoring Committee, and

6. Increased community awareness programmes by the Forest Department.