D.K. Shivakumar in a fix as BJP calls move to lift night traffic ban in Bandipur ‘unjustifiable’

Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar's promise to take all necessary steps to lift the night traffic ban inside the Bandipur National Park, during an election rally in Wayanad last Saturday, has drawn strong criticism from environmentalists, wildlife enthusiasts and the opposition BJP.

The saffron party dubbed it as “political appeasement” and “irresponsible” as Shivakumar had made the promise while campaigning for Congress (UDF) candidate Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in Wayanad.

“Three days ago, Ms Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had discussed with CM Siddaramaiah and me about night traffic in Bandipur. She will soon visit Karnataka to discuss the same. The representatives of both the sides will sit and discuss this issue after the election. Our government in Karnataka would take all necessary steps to lift the ban as it is causing distress to thousands of passengers and students studying in Karnataka,” Shivakumar had said.

Slamming the deputy CM, Mysuru MP Yaduveer Wadiyar said the “irresponsible appeasement” of Wayanad voters and the Congress high command putting Karnataka’s “invaluable wildlife and environmental heritage at risk” are both “indefensible and completely unjustifiable”.

Wadiyar, who is also scion of Mysuru royal family, said that despite pressure from Kerala, the previous Karnataka governments had stood firm in enforcing the night travel ban. He added that the Congress government, in February this year, had paid compensation of Rs 15 lakh to a family in Wayanad after a man was trampled to death by a wild elephant.

“The Karnataka government had paid the taxpayers’ money as compensation apparently on the advice of then Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi,” Wadiyar said.

Senior journalist and wildlife activist Joseph Hoover said, “There is a raging debate about opening the NH 766 for night traffic through the Bandipur Tiger Reserve. But the Supreme Court has banned traffic between 9pm to 6am, as Bandipur is an inviolate area and critical habitat for the tiger. We want people to realise that elephants, tigers, wild dogs, deer, reptiles and nocturnal birds have been run over by speeding vehicles that ply towards Wayanad, Calicut and Gundlupet. The forest belongs to wildlife species and we are intruding into their space.”

It may be recalled that there have been several litigations over the night traffic ban on NH 766 (previously NH 212) that passes through Bandipur and connects Kozhikode-Kollegal. The night ban was opposed by the Kerala government in 2010, when the Karnataka High Court restored the ban citing wildlife killings, but allowed a restricted and equal number of road transport corporation buses from both states to ply during the banned hours. Kerala had challenged the HC order in the Supreme Court.

On August 7, 2019, the apex court upheld the nine-hour night traffic ban (NTB)—from 9pm to 6 am—and directed the Centre to come up with permanent measures to avoid highways inside core areas of tiger reserves. The Centre had filed an affidavit supporting Karnataka’s stand of continuing the night ban to protect tigers, elephants, deer, leopards and other wildlife.