BELAGAVI
Environmental activists in the Belagavi region have strongly opposed Karnataka’s plan to open a wildlife safari in the Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary (BWS), which borders Goa and Karnataka.
Karnataka’s forest and tourism authorities recently announced their plan to set up the safari in the eco-sensitive sanctuary to attract Goan and foreign tourists visiting Goa. Activists from Belagavi are hoping for support from environmentalists in Goa to stop the proposal.
According to environmentalists, this project would cause severe damage to the well-preserved sanctuary and its rich biodiversity, which spreads over 19,042.5 hectares. They argue that Karnataka’s existing plan to divert the Mhadei River is already a major threat to the region’s ecology, and adding a wildlife safari would cause further destruction.
Earlier this month, Minister H.K. Patil announced that the government would start a wildlife safari along an 18-km stretch of the sanctuary. He claimed this would boost tourism in Belagavi district by attracting large numbers of Indian and foreign visitors. A detailed project report is currently being prepared.
However, environmentalists have expressed their strong opposition.
“The sanctuary is one of the finest in the world and is located in the heart of the Western Ghats. Setting up guest accommodations, restaurants, and other infrastructure will cause serious damage to this fragile ecosystem. The Karnataka government’s decision to introduce a wildlife safari is extremely unfortunate. Increased human activity in the protected forest will disturb the habitat of several species, including wild boars, tigers, bison, and leopards,” said Col. (Retd) Ravindra Kumar Saini.
The Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary was declared a protected area by the central government in 2011. Since then, the forest department has restricted all development activities in the area and has plans to relocate villagers from the 13 hamlets on its periphery.
Given this background, environmentalists are shocked by the government’s decision to allow a wildlife safari.
“We are surprised that forest authorities have approved this proposal. We held a meeting and decided to strongly oppose the plan,” Col. Saini told The Goan.
