Tumakuru's Environment & Heritage Issues

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...

Dear Nature lovers, Nature lovers Mallik (Mallikarjun) and Ameen (Ameen Ahmed) have filed 2 applications each under the Right to Information Act (2005), seeking information on forests of Tumkur. Many of these questions refer to Devarayanadurga State Forest, in tune with our latest efforts to save it from total destruction. We are awaiting the answers to these questions. I. 25th August 2007: Application no: 1 filed by Ameen Request to provide following information with reference to Devarayanadurga, Panditanahalli and Ramadevara Betta state forests in Tumkur Territorial Range 1) How many tree-felling cases have been booked since 1997 till date in th above forests? 2) How many of these cases have been proved in the court? 3) How many forest offence cases including illegal quarrying, illegal sand lifting and encroachment cases have been booked since 1997 till date in the above forests? 4) How many of these cases have been proved in the court? 5) How many dead trees have bee...

Road widening inside Devarayana Durga state forest is taking place without any concern for the trees and the natural environment. On June 21, three WANCers- Ameen Ahmed, Mallikarjun and Guru Prasad observed and noted the following: 1). The road from 5th mile stone (8th km stone) to Durgadahalli cross beyond Namadachelume, which is currently about 10 - 12 feet wide, is being widened to about 35 - 40 feet i.e. till the cattle prevention trenches on either side of the road that were dug during M.N.Narayanaswamy DCF's period. 2) A JCB has been used to widen this entire 6 km stretch. 3) Almost all the scrub forest trees and small trees have been uprooted/felled along this stretch for this purpose. On this page are a couple of these pictures. 4) All the big and mature trees that could not be removed by the JCB have been marked by machets ( "macchu" as we call in Kannada) / sharp instruments. These big trees are intended to be removed for the road widening process. We hav...