Tumakuru's Environment & Heritage Issues

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...

This story was published in Deccan Herald's Spectrum supplement on 4 Dec 2007. --- The Wildlife Aware Nature Club in Tumkur works for the cause of nature and wildlife conservation. Bharathi Prabhu outlines the activities of this environment-conscious group. When people in and around Tumkur spot a snake, see any encroachment into forest area, find a wild animal being illegally transported, a lake becoming a landfill, or perceive any problem as an environmental one, they know whom to contact. It is a Wildlife Aware Nature Club (WANC) member that they think of first. For a small NGO in Tumkur with around 10-15 core members and no big time funding, the amount of work done by WANC is astounding. Two things strike you about the group right away - commitment of its members and the diverse environmental issues they tackle. The core members have all been with the group for over 10 years now and they meet regularly to discuss their individual work and plan strategies. Creating awa...

This story was published in the Deccan Herald ('Spectrum' supplement, Bangalore) on 7 October 2014 titled ' Shikar tales of Tumkur '* --- One of the tigers shot by British hunter Arthur J. O. Pollock. He narrates interesting tales of his shikar in Devarayanadurga's jungles Source:   'Sporting days in Southern India' , Arthur J. O. Pollock, 1894 In the aftermath of any victory on the battlefield the prime task of an occupying force is to settle all pressing issues of the administration of the occupied territory to smoothly achieve their aims of occupation. On 15 Dec 1799, seven months after vanquishing the Mysore army on the battle field,  the  Governor of Seringapatam and Mysore Arthur Wellesley, who was a Lieutenant-colonel in the coalition of the winning native and European armies, thought it very important to address the ‘issue’ of tigers patrolling the vicinity of modern day Chitradurga city. In a letter from Srirangapatna to Lt. Col. Close ...

Dear Nature lovers, Tumkur's forests, wildlife and nature lovers have a reason to cheer thanks to the Honourable Lokayukta of Karnataka. We have scored a small victory against the illegal widening of road in Chinnaga area inside Devarayanadurga state forest boundaries. The Honourable Lokayukta of Karnataka has issued orders disposing our complaint filed in October 2007 (Case no: COMPT/ LOK/ BD/112/2007) regarding these matters.  Below is a brief summary of the orders: a) Order to DC, Tumkur District: To provide details of Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE), ZP in whose period the road was illegally widened. b) Order to RFO, Tumkur Range: To file chargesheet against above AEE as well as contractors responsible for illegal widening of the road.  c) Order to the PCCF, Karnataka: To look into the illegal activities taking place inside Devarayanadurga state forest and other forests across Tumkur district and submit a report to the H'ble Lokayukta within one month. ...

In a nutshell Banning traffic/ closing existing roads inside prime PAs and diverting the same to roads in adjoining forests is like dumping your city's garbage in surrounding villages.  Background The contiguous forest cover of interior peninsula India surrounding the junction of Eastern and Western Ghats (peninsular India's green crescent as I like to call it) from Biligiri Ranganatha Swamy Temple (BRT) (Chamarajanagar District in Karnataka) up to Kempuhole (Hassan Dist, Karnataka) and beyond has several major roads that pass through forests. On  one hand while these roads cut across wildlife corridors and habitat of big game - herbivores like elephants and gaur as well as big cats like the tiger, they also are lifelines for tens of thousands of humans, including marginal farmers who use them to transport their produce to the major markets of the region. Inside this green crescent are a string of protected areas many of which, along with some reserve forests, c...

The rich wildlife of Madhugiri Tumkur District's Madhugiri taluk, in south-eastern Karnataka, is of great interest to wildlife lovers. The habitats here range from dry deciduous forests in Madhugiri State Forest to the famous grasslands of Jayamangali Conservation Reserve near Maidanahalli village, which has one of Karnataka's healthiest single population of blackbuck. The hills to the south of and west of Madhugiri town are well-known for their sloth bears. For the past few years, WANC is working to bring these reserve and revenue forests along with those around Channarayana Durga hill, under the umbrella of a Conservation Reserve or Wildlife Sanctuary. View Larger Map We rushed to the spot and it was almost 8.00 PM. We reached a well that was completely dry and without fencing. We saw three sloth bears - one adult female and two baby bears. The animals looked a little dehydrated and tired. It is peak summer in this part of the world and ...

As told, with his pictures, by: Mr.TVN Murthy Honorary Wildlife Warden, Tumkur District, Karnataka and Founder Advisor, WANC, Tumkur. Email : tvnmurthy at vsnl dot com ©TVN Murthy (All rights reserved)  ---------------- Dear Friends, It was yet another incident of Sloth bear being trapped by the farmers at Pandithanahalli near Hirehalli of Tumkur Taluk. It is common in Tumkur district for farmers to set up traps to catch wildboars that venture into farm land for food. This was unfortunate for a well built adult male sloth bear on the night of 20 July 2009. It was trying to cross the barbed wire fence of a farm land near TVS Electronics at Pandithanahalli. The trap hooked the front leg of the bear sometime during night and the animal was crying for help after that. ©TVN Murthy (All rights reserved)  Early morning on 21 July, the local forest department officials and WANC took a local veterinary doctor to release the animal. The animal was sedat...