Enraged by the Karnataka government’s reported consent to revoke the ban on night traffic on the National Highway (NH) 766 cutting through Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Chamarajanagar, Green activists and environmentalists have started voicing their opinions against the lifting of the night ban. The traffic is banned on the Highway from 9 pm to 6 am to avoid road kills and reduce disturbance to wildlife. Environmentalists have even started an online petition ‘Please Save Bandipur Tigers - No Elevated Highway. No Removal of Night Traffic Ban’ addressed to Chief Minister of Karnataka, Union Minster for Road Transport and Highways, Chief Wildlife Warden of Karnataka, Chief Secretary of Karnataka, Chief Justice, Supreme Court of India and the National Tiger Conservation Authority. The online petition, filed yesterday by Krishna Naveen, has over 17,000 signatories with numbers growing every minute. Karnataka introduced a ban on night traffic through Bandipur in 2009 and the decision was challenged in the High Court of Karnataka which upheld the move. The issue is before the Supreme Court now. The SC has constituted a committee to examine the issue. In a controversial move, however, Kumaraswamy has reportedly agreed to revoke the ban on night traffic and this decision comes at a time when the matter is currently sub-judice and being heard by the Supreme Court. Kumaraswamy’s expression of consent was given during his and Karnataka PWD Minister’s meeting with Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on July 17 in New Delhi. Informing about the CM’s consent to revoke the ban, Y.S. Malik, Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has written a letter to the Karnataka Chief Secretary. Informing the State about the recommendations of the Ministry, to be submitted before the Supreme Court, Malik stated that both the CM and PWD Minister (H.D. Revanna) have “agreed to the recommendations of MoRTH and assured sending a formal consent of the State government within one week”. Since 2010, Karnataka has been opposing lifting of the night traffic ban while Kerala has been putting pressure on Karnataka. Although successive CMs — B.S. Yeddyurappa, D.V. Sadananda Gowda, Jagadish Shettar and Siddharamaiah have resisted this move — the Centre continues to put enormous pressure on Karnataka under Kerala’s influence.
