The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in its latest report on the tiger census said Karnataka government’s Mekedatu dam project could pose a threat to the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary. The 500-page report was released on August 1. The project aims to provide drinking water to Bengaluru and its nearby areas. Conceived in early 2000, the project envisages constructing a dam near Ontigondlu, about 1.5 km from Mekedatu in Ramanagara district of Karnataka at the confluence of the Cauvery and Arkavathi rivers. Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary is a part of the Nilgiri landscape cluster, adjoining the forests of the MM Hills, Erode and Ramanagara and Mysore divisions of Karnataka. “The proposed Mekedatu dam, which could inundate about 50 sq km of forest, could pose a major threat for the Cauvery Wildlife sanctuary. Mekedatu connects the Biligiri Ranganathaswamy Temple (BRT) Tiger Reserve and the Male Mahadeshwara Hills (MM Hills) wildlife division and is an important connectivity. Any large scale dam will adversely impact the aquatic fauna of Kaveri river. There is a need for protection and ungulate augmentation in this area,” the report said. The report further stated the connectivity of Ballari Forest Division with forests in other divisions has been impacted due to human habitations, infra projects and mining activities. Zero tigers were found in the Ballari Forest division. It suggested that if Ballari Forest Division’s connectivity is established and maintained with other forest divisions, it would act as a functional tiger habitat. “Ballari Forest Division is located in the northern Karnataka landscape cluster. It is connected with Raichur, Koppal, Haveri, Gadag, Davanagere and Chitradurga forest divisions of Karnataka. During the camera trapping exercise, no tiger was photo-captured. Ballari Forest Division is a mosaic of small forest patches interspersed between agricultural fields, human habitations and traversed by a network of state and national highways. The division is rich in iron ore, making it a mining hub. In 2012, a blanket ban on mining operations was imposed by the Supreme Court of India. However, many legal mines are still operational in the division. The division can act as a functional tiger sink habitat if proper connectivity is established and maintained with the source populations of the landscape. While two tigers were detected in Bannerghatta National Park, which is located in close proximity to Bengaluru, in last year’s tiger census, the NTCA said that the park faces threat due to high tourism. “Even though only two tigers were detected, the detections validate the importance of Bannerghatta National Park as a stepping stone patch for maintaining the meta-population of tigers in this landscape. However, due to its proximity to the city of Bengaluru, it faces threat due to high tourism. The linearity of the park has made it more susceptible to disturbances and has also led to the increase in human-wildlife conflict in the area. Therefore, proper protection and management is required to make the park more conducive to wildlife movement,” the report said. The NTCA report has mentioned that Belagavi Forest Division forms an important habitat corridor for tigers dispersing between Kali Tiger Reserve and protected areas of Goa and any developmental project in the area, such as the expansion of national highway 748AA, should be appropriately mitigated. Last year, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) directed the private firm that prepared the detailed project report for an upgrade of NH 748AA, which passes through wildlife-protected areas in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa, to get wildlife and forest diversion clearances. The Rs 229-crore project to be implemented under the Bharatmala Pariyojana programme involves two-laning of the national highway that links north Goa with Karnataka through Belagavi. The project passes through larger protected-area networks such as the Kali Tiger Reserve, Dandeli Sanctuary (Castlerock area), Bhimgad Sanctuary, Mollem National Park, Mhadei Sanctuary, Tillari Conservation Reserve, Chandgad Conservation Reserve, Radhanagari Sanctuary and the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve besides reserve forests spread across Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra. Though Bandipur Tiger Reserve and Nagarhole Tiger Reserve house the highest number of tigers in Karnataka, 191 and 185 tigers, respectively, the NTCA mentioned that reserves are threatened due to continuous human-animal conflict. “The major conservation challenges for Bandipur include proliferation of several invasive species which are degrading the tiger habitats, increasing fire incidents and escalating tiger-human conflicts at the peripheral areas which require immediate management attention. Nagarahole Tiger Reserve is threatened due to presence of tribal settlements inside the core area, continuous increase of invasive species and passage of state highways (problem of traffic and littering) through the critical wildlife habitats. Focused mitigation measures can help in the reinforcement of corridors for the dispersal and establishment of metapopulation of tigers in the adjoining forest divisions,” the report elaborated. The NTCA expressed concern over the dwindling tiger population in the BRT Hills Tiger Reserve. The reserve is connected with the Bandipur Tiger Reserve, MM Hills WLS and Mysore Forest division of Karnataka. “The tiger number has decreased from the past two cycles in BRT Hills, which needs to be investigated in order to take pertinent measures. The presence of human settlements inside the tiger reserve is a major concern, which in turn degrades the habitats. Moreover, proliferation of the invasive species needs to be appropriately addressed,” the report said.
