Near Extinction of Makali Beru

Makali Beru (Decalepis Hamiltonii) is an endemic keystone species that grows in the rocky outcrop of Bannerghatta National Park. Actually, the species is endemic to peninsular India and is present in the dry and moist deciduous forests of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andra Pradesh. It is currently listed as ‘Endangered’ by International Union of Conservation by Nature (IUCN) with a decreasing population trend.

The medicinal roots (meaning ‘Beru’ in Kannada) are in high demand in the pickle industry. The roots are dug up before they reach reproductive maturity and has resulted in gradual decline of natural occurrence in the forests.

“Bangaloreans have extracted thousands of tonnes of Makali Beru for pickle and medicinal use” says Dr A.N Yellappa Reddy. The soft, pulpy roots penetrate vertically to about 22 to 30 feet and laterally to about 30 to 80 feet, boring the rock underneath. This paves way for rainwater to travel deep down into the underground aquifers. Besides the roots are food for wildlife. Over-exploitation of the plant has damaged the ecology and is changing the hydrology of the park. The relationship between the Lithosphere (rock), Hydrosphere(water) and Biosphere (terrestrial ecosystem i.e the tree, wildlife), has been continuously eroding due to human activities.

BET has raised more than 50,000 saplings, which has been distributed for planting around Makali Betta, Makl Durga and Bannerghatta National Forest.

STRR to pass thru BNP core area

As reported by Hindu here, 

       "The long-delayed Satellite Town Ring Road (STRR) may have to “fly” over core areas of the draft eco-sensitive Bannerghatta National Park as it attempts to connect seven towns that encircle Bengaluru. Preliminary documents submitted by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to the Ministry of Environment and Forests in June to obtain the terms of reference show that the STRR will pass through the core areas of the national park, even if it is elevated for a nearly 7-km stretch"

BET's letter to the chief secretary regarding the proposal to construct the Satellite Town Ring Road (STRR) bisecting Bannerghatta National Park can be found here

Innocent Elephant Dies

Institute for Natural Resources Conservation, Education, Research and Training, (INCERT), Bangalore was founded in the year 2000 by Dr Yellappa Reddy, whose is now the chairman of Bangalore Environment Trust (BET). The leading researcher S. Sridhar is also a trustee of BET. A small note on the DR Yellappa Reddy and S. Sridhar are at the bottom of the post

INCERT has been studying the man-elephant confrontation in and around Bannerghatta national Park since the mid-nineties. INCERT’s Investigative report is reproduced here with the permission of the author. 

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INCERT Report dated Monday the 1st July 2002, 

by S. Sridhar, S. Shreyas and N. Manjunath

Further to INCERT Field Report dated 29th June 2002, We regret to announce the tragic death of an innocent wild tusker in an operation to capture and translocate wild elephants from the Bannerghatta National Park, on Sunday the 30th June 2002

The Mistaken Identity

The officials were targeting a tusker, which had allegedly killed two people in recent weeks, near the Talghattapura, on the outskirts of the Bannerghatta National Park. On Saturday, three separate groups of forest watchers were sent to different parts of the park to locate the rogue elephant and this individual was noticed among a herd of four elephants, near the Soppinakunte area. On Sunday morning, a herd of three elephants were noticed at the Mettubande area of the Park, by the darting team. The group that was familiar with the rogue elephant was not in the vicinity, therefore they asked over the wireless set to give the description of the rogue elephant. Based on the description given over the wireless set, the tranquilizing party darted the innocent elephant which they thought fitted the description of the rogue elephant, and the rest is a history.

How did the elephant die?

The seven tamed elephants viz Arjuna, Abimanyu, Sri Rama, Harsha, New Tusker, Gayathri, and

Capturing Wild Elephants

Institute for Natural Resources Conservation, Education, Research and Training, (INCERT), Bangalore was founded in the year 2000 by Dr Yellappa Reddy, whose is now the chairman of Bangalore Environment Trust (BET). The leading researcher S. Sridhar is also a trustee of BET. A small note on the DR Yellappa Reddy and S. Sridhar are at the bottom of the post

INCERT has been studying the man-elephant confrontation in and around Bannerghatta national Park since the mid-nineties. INCERT’s Investigative report is reproduced here with the permission of the author. 

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INCERT Field Report dated Saturday the 29th June 2002, 

by S. Sridhar and S. Shreyas

Early this week the Forest Department requisitioned the services of seven tamed elephants from the various elephant camps of the state to the Bannergatta National Park, in order to capture four wild tuskers, which are creating a havoc in the national park and the adjacent villages.

According to the officials these four wild elephants which have been identified, are presently running amuck, and have killed some villagers in recent months and creating panic among the villagers in the neighborhood of Talaghattapura and Anekal.

Today, the National Park officials were seen running around with excitement and were putting their equipment together to capture the wild elephants. They were feverishly checking and rechecking their armaments and tapping their wireless sets to learn more about the movements of the rouge elephants in the Soppina Kunte and Chikkahosalli areas.

Wild Animals Purged

Institute for Natural Resources Conservation, Education, Research and Training, (INCERT), Bangalore was founded in the year 2000 by Dr Yellappa Reddy, whose is now the chairman of Bangalore Environment Trust (BET). The leading researcher S. Sridhar is also a trustee of BET. A small note on the DR Yellappa Reddy and S. Sridhar are at the bottom of the post

INCERT has been studying the man-elephant confrontation in and around Bannerghatta national Park since the mid-nineties. INCERT’s Investigative report is reproduced here with the permission of the author. 

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INCERT Investigative Report Dated 29th September 2001

By V. Sudhiendra and S. Sridhar

The forest department has done it again! Amid squeals of protests from environmentalists and the villagers alike, the department has gone ahead with the construction spree. Recently it built a large enclosure to house the confiscated circus lions and tigers. Presently they have almost completed a Bear enclosure, a Tiger enclosure and tourist cottages inside the Bannerghatta National Park. All the above constructions have been put up in clear violation of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, Forest (Conservation) Act and directions of the Supreme Court issued recently.

Decline of Elephant Habitat

Institute for Natural Resources Conservation, Education, Research and Training, (INCERT), Bangalore was founded in 2000 by Dr Yellappa Reddy, whose is now the chairman of Bangalore Environment Trust (BET). The leading researcher S. Sridhar is also a trustee of BET. A small note on both Dr Yellappa Reddy and S. Sridhar is at the end of the post

INCERT has been studying the man-elephant confrontation in and around Bannerghatta national Park since the mid-nineties.  Its investigative report prepared under the aegis of Dr Yellappa Reddy is reproduced here with the permission of the author. It contains some basic facts about the park as well. No changes have been made to the original.

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About Asian Elephants:

The Elephant has been an integral part of our history, mythology, religion and culture. Since times immemorial, eloquent references are made in a number of ancient literatures of the subcontinent. Elephants have been embellished in rock carvings of Pallavas and Hoysalas. The imperial elephant stables of Emperor Akbar are believed to have housed 32,000 pachyderms. Their number during his son Jahangirs realm is said to have gone up to as much as 1,30,000!

The Asian elephants are presently spread over 13 countries. In terms of numbers - the existing population is between 34,000 to 54,000 and is declining alarmingly. The entire Asian elephant population is less than 10% of its African counterpart.

Drafted by whom for whom?

Bannerghatta National Park(BNP) is part of the contiguous wildlife habitat of nearly 1400 sqkms bordering Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary and Jowalagiri Reserve Forest on South and eastern boundaries. All of these are part of the Mysore Elephant Reserve. BNP is at the terminal point of the Mysore Elephant Reserve on the northern side.

On 15 June, 2016, Ministry of Environment and forest (MOEF), issued a draft notification to declare an area of 268.9 sqkm as Eco-Sensitive Zone(ESZ) around BNP. This was done in response to the supreme court order, which said, in the absence of any such notification, the ESZ would be the 10kms radius around the park. The 2016 notification by MOEF expired as the state government didn’t submit its view. On 30thOct 2018, Karnataka government put forward a draft proposal, which reduced the ESZ to 169 sqkms. This is 100 sqkms lesser than the 2016 notification. Back in 1991, even before the concept of ESZ came into picture, the government had declared one km area around BNP as the safe zone. The new draft notification at some points is just 100mtrs from the park boundary eating away the safe zone.

Public comments for the notification to be sent to esz-mef@nic.in by 31 Dec 2018. The following are the comments were sent by Bangalore Environment Trust (BET)