CHAMRAJNAGAR: As the countdown for the final notification of the Eco Sensitive Zone (ESZ) around the Bandipur Tiger Reserve by the Ministry of Environment has begun, leaders and locals are building pressure to stall the final notification. Joining the opposition to the move are those part of the the hospitality industry and owners of properties in elephant corridors as construction of resorts and hotels will be banned in the area.The move, they fear, raises doubts about their livelihood and mobility in the Bandipur National Park. Those who have purchased lands which are owned by the dalits community against the provisions of the regulations are now in a bind.There are 118.27 sq km of notified forests in Mysore and Chamrajnagar falling in Bandipur National Park.Those keen on tapping and exploring businesses in the guise of eco and wildlife tourism will be hit largely as commercial activities such as mining, quarrying, stone crushing and establishment of industries and commercial hotels in the area are banned. It also bans the setting up of saw mills, hydroelectric plants and widening of highways and major roads.The notification also bans flying of aeroplanes, leisure activities like hot-air balloon rides, helicopters and parasailing over the park. While land owners accuse the Forest Department of violating norms by not taking locals into confidence, sources in the Forest Department have said that they have prepared a documentary showing structures in the elephant corridors, farms where pesticides and chemicals are used and buildings that are on the lease against provisions. In a few villages, farm owners have disrupted the movement of wild animals. Forest authorities are accusing vested interests of creating panic among villagers by saying there will be a ban on cultivation while there is no such mention in the draft.Meanwhile, MP R Druvanarayan said he and Opposition Congress leader in the Karnataka Assembly Siddaramaiah and MLA H S Mahadev Prasad have welcomed the draft and have appealed to the government to lift the ban on coffee plantations, setting up poultry farms and growing commercial crops in villages. However, he said they have not represented the hospitality industry, mining mafia or those owning land in the park limits.
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