The AP government’s hasty decision to construct a memorial for YSR at the chopper crash site in Nallamala forests has wildlife
enthusiasts and environmentalists fuming as it’s a reserve forest and also tiger country.
“The thought of a memorial in the middle of a tiger reserve is absurd,” said forester Sarvottam Rao. It was on Monday that tourism minister J Geetha Reddy announced that the crash site at Pavurallagutta would be developed into a major tourist spot.
Spread across 9,500 sq km, the Nallamala forest is home to thousands of endangered animals and birds, and any habitat disturbance will result in “loss of animal corridor”. While the Srisailam tiger reserve has an area of 3,540 sq km, the mishap site falls under Gundlabrahmeshwaram wildlife sanctuary — a restricted area southwest of the tiger reserve.
Since the mishap site is close to Byrluti range in Chintagundam in Atmakur division — a core area in the Nallamala forests — any construction, including roads, is banned as per the 1972 Wildlife Act. “No one has a right to tamper with the Forest Act to build a memorial for YSR or anybody. The law is clear on this,” environmentalist Siraj Taher fumed.
SOURCE - TOI
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