Environmental organisations are exerting pressure on the government to close all ecotourism centres in Wayanad till the monsoon season to mitigate human-wildlife conflict.
Addressing the media here on Wednesday, N. Badusha, president, Wayanad Prakruthi Samrakshana Samiti, said the ecotourism centres of the Forest department were one of the major reasons for the accelerating human-wildlife conflict in the district. Hence, suchcentres should be closed till the advent of the monsoon, he added.
The centres should be opened only after a study by an expert team, and watchers of the ecotourism centres should be deployed to keep forest fire at bay during summer, he said.
Wildlife migration, especially large mammals like elephants and gaur, from nearby protected areas in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu has begun, and functioning of the ecotourism centres may provoke wild animals to enter human habitats. Such situations would further fuel public agitations, he added.
“The mushrooming growth of homestays and resorts on the forest fringes has led to the rise in human-wildlife conflict. Many resort owners are organising illegal trekking and wildlife safari at night with the support of Forest officials,” he said. Hence, the facilities, especially those in the elephant corridors and forest, should be closed, he added.
