Even as the human-elephant conflicts have been occurring frequently around the Western Ghats, encroachments of elephant corridors have also increased. It is not just farming areas that are cutting off these paths, but resorts too. For instance, a resort in Bandipur Tiger Reserve (BTR) has cut off a major elephant corridor, disregarding the cancellation of conversion order by Chamarajanagar district administration.
The resort’s promoters took possession of 3.32 acres on the pretext of constructing a house at the revenue department survey number 497/1 of Bachalli village. The conversion order was passed in the names of Asha and Ashok. But the district administration found that the promoters constructed a commercial resort in violation of the Karnataka Land Conversion Act, 1964.
Following this, the deputy commissioner cancelled the conversion order on August 22, 2011. “But the commercial activities have continued unabated. The promoters have built over 30 medium and small cottages and the resort has been built in the middle of the elephant corridor between Bandipur and Madhumalai,” said conservationist and wildlife activist NS Harish of Aranya Wildlife Trust of Chamarajanagar.
Conservationists in Chamarajanagar, Mysore and Bandipur said the Asian elephant corridors are not as wide as African corridors.
Local elephants use their native instinct to traverse through the same corridor year after year. Since the corridors in Western Ghats are narrower due to geographical reasons, any deviation from their path will bring the elephants face to face with humans.
In this case, the elephants that use the waterhole located near the resort have been chased away by packs of dogs and the night safaris conducted by the resort have been disturbing elephants as well as other mammals that use the corridor for grazing.
