MM Hill tiger reserve: Forest authorities allay fears of local residents

Forest department authorities have allayed the concerns of local people and devotees about the proposal to convert Male Mahadeshwara Hill Wildlife Sanctuary into a tiger reserve.

Speaking at a public meeting organised in this regard, Deputy Conservator of Forests V Yedukondalu said that there will not be any curbs on movements during the night or restriction on the devotees coming in padayatra to the hill temple.

The DCF said that the villages within the forest would be developed making use of the funds available for tiger reserve. “This will also generate employment for the local people. A kachcha road will be developed for the villages inside the forest,” he added.

Local people expressed their apprehensions in the meeting. A resident of Indiganatta village said that the people of 33 villages in the limits of Mahadeshwara Hill were dependent on cattle rearing for their livelihood. He feared that they would have to migrate to Tamil Nadu in search of job if the wildlife sanctuary was converted into a tiger reserve.

Shanthamallikarjuna swami of Salur Mutt said that there are not different set of rules for a tiger reserve and wildlife sanctuary and hence people living in forests need not worry about the proposal. He suggested the forest department authorities to take steps for providing road connectivity and power supply to the villages.

Shantamallikarjuna Swamy of Salur Mutt said there will be no much difference between tiger reserve and wildlife sanctuary. The people need not to worry and the villages will be developed, he said.

As per the plan, the proposed Tiger Reserve will be spread over 906.18 sq km with a core area of 670.95 sq km and a buffer zone of 235.19 sqkm. M M Hills forest is a bridge between the Western and Eastern Ghats and the forest region has a potential to emerge as one of the major tiger reserves like Bandipur, Nagarahole, BRT and Mudumalai tiger reserves and the project also supports elephants, leopards, hyena, wild dogs among the other animals. In addition, the authorities have recorded 285 bird species in the region.

According to sources, there would be 25 to 30 tigers in MM Hills Wildlife Sanctuary and it would be helpful for breeding tigers if the sanctuary was declared as a tiger reserve.

It has to be noted that a few days ago, hundreds of Soligas, under the banner of District Tribal Welfare Association and Hanur taluk Soliga Development Association had staged a protest opposing the tiger reserve proposal. According to them, there are 2,500 soliga families in the colonies and 15,000 people living in the centre and the fringes of the forest. They eke out a living by selling minor forest produce and farming. The Soligas have been protecting the forest and the wildlife since centuries. The families will be affected of the project announced, they had claimed.