Mudumalai night trafic ban

[Roopak Gangadharan]

long due.....



Chennai: The Nilgiris district Collector has banned vehicular traffic on the Thalaikundah – Theppakadu Road (via) Kallatty and the Thorapalli – Theppakkadu – Kakanallah Road (NH67) from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

In a notification in the Nilgiris District Gazette, Collector Archana Patnaik has said that the restrictions have been imposed in the interest of public safety and to protect wildlife and preserve its peaceful habitat.

The Karnataka government has banned vehicular traffic through the Bandipur wildlife sanctuary in the night. Wildlife activists have been demanding a similar move by the Nilgiris administration to protect wildlife in the adjoining Mudumalai tiger reserve.

Advocate M. Santhanaraman filed a writ petition in the Madras High Court seeking directions to the Forest Department and the Nilgiris district administration to ban vehicular traffic between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. last August. The then Chief Justice H.L. Gokhale had asked him to give a representation to the authorities concerned, expecting the government to take appropriate decision, keeping in mind various laws in existence for protection of wildlife.



http://www.hindu.com/2010/08/13/stor...1353180400.htm

[Lakshminarayanan Nataraja]

Welcome move. Nilgiri BR is perhaps the richest in the whole of W.Ghats for large mammals.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Roopak,
This is good news. I am happy that the present collector is doing good work. I have seen the amount of disturbance that happens in the night with gaurs and elephants running across the road, accidents etc etc.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi