300 acres of encroached land recovered in Karnataka’s Bukkapatna Chinkara Wildlife Sanctuary
Tumakuru: The Karnataka Forest Department recovered 300 acres of the Bukkapatna Chinkara Wildlife Sanctuary at Tiptur sub division in Sira Taluk, Tumkur district. The restored area, located in Survey No. 46 of Muthugadahalli Ambarpur, was declared as forest land in 1926 under the Forest Rights Act.
According to forest department records, as cited by The New Indian Express on Friday, this marks one of the largest recovery of forest land in recent years.
While 120 acres were recovered just last month from Kadugodi plantation—land reportedly worth over Rs 4,000 crore—this latest exercise in Bukkapatna stands out in scale. However, the record for the largest forest land recovery still remains with 600 acres reclaimed in Kolar in 2013, followed by 355 acres in Mallur in 2014.
V. Yedukondalu, Conservator of Forests, revealed that the land had been illegally granted by revenue officials to villagers over the past 30 years. Although no residential structures were present, agricultural activities such as the cultivation of coconut, cotton, arecanut, cowpea, and other crops had been ongoing for years.
“Following the recently issued Lokayukta directives and Supreme Court and Karnataka High Court orders, we asked the revenue department officials of the division to cancel the illegal records, and 64(A) proceedings were initiated (under Section 64(A) of the Karnataka Forest Act of 1963, and the eviction notice is issued to people illegally occupying land before recovering the land). Documents that we obtained showed that most of the land was illegally occupied, and on Thursday, the entire land parcel was recovered,” TNIE quoted him as saying.
Forest department officials mentioned that the exercise of digging pits to lay trenches and undertake plantations suitable for blackbucks has started.
“There are many more land parcels around the forest division that are also being recovered. The exercise has started,” Yedukondalu added.
The sanctuary (also known as the Black Buck Sanctuary) is spread across 36,000 acres and includes three reserve forests. It was notified in 2019 as a measure to protect the chinkaras (Indian gazelle) in their natural habitat of the dry thorny scrub forest, which faced the threat of excessive grazing. Apart from Chinkaras, the Bukkapatna Chinkara Wildlife Sanctuary is home to black bucks, four-horned antelope, sloth bear, leopard, striped hyena, and Indian wolf.
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Worker’s body reaches Ranchi from Saudi 4 months after death; family rejects over compensation
Ranchi (PTI): The body of a migrant worker from Jharkhand’s Giridih district killed in Saudi Arabia in October last year has arrived at Ranchi Airport, but his family refused to accept it over pending compensation, officials said.
Shikha Lakra, team leader of the state migrant control cell, told PTI that, before taking the body of Vijay Kumar Mahato, the family is demanding compensation from the private company where he used to work in the Arab country.
Mahato was killed in an alleged crossfire between the police and criminals.
“Since it was a bullet injury case, the matter is before a court in Jeddah. The final compensation may depend on the court’s decision,” Lakra said.
“The Indian Embassy informed us about the body’s arrival, and coordination was done with district authorities. Our role is limited to coordination in cases involving overseas employers and foreign jurisdiction,” she added.
Giridih Deputy Commissioner Ram Niwas Yadav said the authorities will try to convince the family to perform the last rites.
“We have already sanctioned Rs 5 lakh under the government scheme for migrant’s deaths abroad. The compensation payment might take some time,” he said.
The body is currently at the mortuary of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi.
The Family members said they will only accept it if the company provides written assurance regarding compensation. “Without that assurance, we will not receive the body,” said Ram Prasad Mahato, the deceased’s brother-in-law.
Mahato, a native of Dudhpaniya village in Madh Gopali panchayat under Dumri block, was employed as a tower line fitter. His family said he was struck by a bullet during a gunfight between local police and an extortion gang and later succumbed to his injuries.
Social activist Sikander Ali said Mahato is survived by his wife, two young sons aged five and three, and elderly parents.
