Skip to main content

Road from Swandenahalli to Durgadahalli destroys prime area of Devarayana Durga State Forest

The area around Chinnagaradevara Betta is one of the most beautiful in the whole of Devarayana Durga state forest. In addition, this area is probably the least disturbed of all the areas of this reserve forest.

WANCer Ameen Ahmed who first visited this patch of forest in 1990 and WANCer Guru Prasad who has been frequenting this patch since mid-90s, fondly remember this area and often compare the vegetation to that of Bandipur and Mudumalai sanctuaries' undulating terrains.

A small foot path / track used to cut through the forest and connect the villages of Swandenahalli and Durgadahalli, a distance of 8 kilometres. Vehicles though, still have to take a circutous route for more than 15 kilometres to reach the other side of the forest. A couple of kilometres off the track between Swandenahalli and Durgadahalli lies a temple dedicated to lord Rangaswamy, popularly known as Chinnaga Rangaswamy temple. Devotees from Swandenahalli and nearby villages visit this temple within the forest boundaries and there is an annual jathra (religous gathering) of these devotees at the temple.

Since 2000 - 2001, this track has been broadened to accomodate 4- wheel vehicles. This has been widened, causing considerable disturbance to the forest.

In June 2007, WANCers Guru Prasad and Mallikarjun visited this region for bird watching and found to their shock that trees inside the forest were being felled, rocks being quarried and being carried away out of the forest. They came back and wrote a letter to the DCF Tumkur regarding the matter, along with pictures. Kindly see the pictures and the letter below to know more about this issue.


A view of felled trees and blasted rocks

Another view of the blasted rocks

A mature tree hacked
A view of the dense forest surrounding the path

A picture of forest destruction

The following are satellite images of above illegal roads inside Chinnaga area of Devarayanadurga state forest, built by Panchayat Raj Engineering Department (PRED) of Karnataka Public Works Department (PWD) in 2007.

The images have been sourced from Google Maps and stitched. Please click them to see the enlargement.



You can see the above satellite images live on google maps below:

View Larger Map
SOURCE: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=tumkur,+India&jsv=107&ie=UTF8&ll=13.387824,77.165587&spn=0.008934,0.021544&t=h&z=16


The following is the complaint letter by WANC member Mallikarjun to the Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF), Tumkur Territorial Division.
-----------QUOTE----------

From
Mallikarjun M
Tumkur City
Tel: 98863 85549

To
Deputy Conservator of Forests
Tumkur Territorial Division
Kunigal Road
Tumkur 5721 02
Date: June 12, 2007

Dear Sir,

Sub: Tree felling, blasting of rocks and forest destruction to build road inside Devarayana Durga state forest.

I am nature lover of Tumkur and a member of the conservation group Wildlife Aware Nature Club (WANC).

On June 7, 2007, during one of my routine birdwatching trips along with my club mate Sri. Guru Prasad, I visited Chinigara betta near Swandenahalli inside the north-western boundary of the Devarayana Durga state forest (as per Survey of India 1:50,000 Sheet 57 G/3, First Edition).

Sir, I was shocked to see trees being felled, rocks being blasted and the overall destruction on forestland, for the construction of a road to the Rangaswamy temple located inside the state forest boundary. I and other members of our club have been visiting this stretch of Devarayana Durga state Forest for the past 17 years now and never have we seen such destruction here. This beautiful path that was covered by trees and which we deeply love, has been damaged beyond recognition.

Apart from this, we also saw a tractor lifting the stones illegally from inside the forest and transporting them towards Swandenahalli village.

To prove my above claims, I am herewith enclosing a few pictures of the same.

Sir, I kindly request you:
1) to take immediate action to stop the construction of this road and the destruction of this stretch of Devarayana Durga state forest.
2) to take strict legal action against the perpetrators of these illegal activities under the preview of the existing Forest Conservation Act (1980) and also under the most Honourable Supreme Court of India’s order dated 12/12/1996 in the Godavarman Thirumalpad vs Union of India case.
3) to have a gate with lock installed on this path, to prevent unauthorised activities like stone quarrying from taking place inside the forest.

I hope you will do the needful.

Kindly feel free to contact me if you have any further questions.

Thanking you.

With you in conservation,
(sd/-)
Mallikarjun.M

CC:
1. Assistant Conservator of Forests, Tumkur Territorial Sub-division, Kunigal Gate, Tumkur
2. Range Forest Officer, Tumkur Territorial Range, Kunigal Gate, Tumkur

----------UNQUOTE------------

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

'Saving the bulbul's home'

Yellowthroated Bulbul: A new home to secure the future of this exclusively 'Indian' bulbul. Pic: Clement Francis ----------Quote--------- Saving the bulbul's home Amit S Upadhye TNN Bangalore: In 1906, when the British government notified a 42.27-sqkm forest patch on the hills along east Tumkur district as Devarayanadurga state forest, it left out 6 sqkm abutting it. Over a hundred years later, the patch is now getting its due, with conservationists formulating a proposal to declare it a yellow-throated bulbul conservation reserve. The area is a nesting ground for these winged beauties, apart from being home to sloth bears and leopards. On World Forestry Day recently, researchers from the Indian Institute of Science, members of the Wildlife Aware Nature Club (WANC), Tumkur, and forest department sleuths began a two-day survey of the patch, which is categorized as southern thorny scrub forest. The forest department will formulate the proposal based on the study re

Conservation of Devarayanadurga forest over the centuries

This is an unedited version of the story that was published in two parts* in the Deccan Herald, Bangalore, in Aug-Sep 2014. A view of Devarayanadurga forests ©Ameen Ahmed (All rights reserved) Located a stone’s throw distance from Tumkur city towards east atop one of the many hills of the metamorphic Closepet granite chain that runs, often breaking in between, from Hospet in north Karnataka to Yellandur near Chamarajanagar town in south is the picturesque Devarayanadurga village. It is a place which gives a sense of joy to varied people. To a Hindu pilgrim it is abode of the many gods well-known of which is Lord Narasimhaswamy. To a history buff, it is home to structures like the Devarayanadurga fort which is eye witness to the happenings here for the last few centuries. For a meditator, the ambience of the place at a height of almost 4,000 feet above sea level is perfect to spend some peaceful moments away from the noisy and polluted cities. Devarayanadurga village was the seat

Tiger in Devarayanadurga (Updated Aug. 2007)

I. Introduction to Devarayanadurga State Forest (DDSF): Devarayanadurga state forest was the first state forest to be declared in Karnataka (in 1907). It has been enjoying some sort of legal protection by the Government since as early as 1853. II. Vegetation/ Flora of Devarayanadurga forests: It is about 42.27 Sq km large and is a patch of mainly Dry Deciduous forest inter-spread with large patches of scrub and a few degraded moist deciduous forests in its valleys. The forest is degraded towards periphery. For a forest which is just about 6 km from Tumkur city, it is remarkably well preserved and wild. Both the Forest Department and the locals of Tumkur have special attachment towards this forest. It is important to note that there are no villages inside the forest here and there are many chunks of hilly forests adjoining Devarayana Durga state forest (DDSF) roughly about 20 sq. km, which although unprotected have a fairly good tree cover like the one at Ranthambore Nation