Farmers protest state’s move to declare Male Mahadeshwara Sanctuary as Tiger Reserve
Chamarajnagar: Hundreds of farmers from Hanur taluk staged a strong protest on Monday against the Karnataka government’s proposal to declare the Male Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary as a tiger reserve.
The protest, led by office-bearers of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS), began with a massive bike rally from Ramapura in Hanur taluk, where participants raised slogans and carried placards depicting tigers to register their opposition to the move. The rally passed through Hanur, Kollegal, Yalanduru, and Santhemarahalli, before concluding at the Deputy Commissioner’s Office in Chamarajnagar.
Farmers argued that converting the sanctuary into a tiger reserve would severely impact their livelihoods, restricting access to forest resources and agricultural activities in nearby villages.
The state government’s plan follows a series of tiger deaths in the Male Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary, which has drawn serious concern from the authorities. Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre has directed the Forest Department to submit a detailed report on the deaths and the overall ecological condition of the sanctuary. The government is reportedly treating the matter as a high priority, considering the repeated loss of tigers in the area.
According to sources, forest officials are in the process of finalizing the report, which will determine the next course of action.
KRRS district vice-president Gowdegowda, taluk office-bearer Palaniswami, and local farmer leader Venkatesh were among those who led the rally. The protesters submitted a memorandum to the district administration urging the state government to drop the proposal, warning that declaring the area as a tiger reserve would force thousands of farmers to abandon their ancestral lands.
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Punjab elect to bowl against Chennai in IPL match
Chennai (PTI): Punjab Kings skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to bowl against Chennai Super Kings in an Indian Premier League match here on Friday.
CSK made one change to their playing XI, bringing in Prashant Veer in place of Matt Short.
CSK had lost to Rajasthan Royals by eight wickets in the opening match while Punjab Kings defeated Gujarat Titans by three wickets.
Teams:
Chennai Super Kings: Sanju Samson (w), Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Ayush Mhatre, Sarfaraz Khan, Shivam Dube, Kartik Sharma, Prashant Veer, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Matt Henry, and Khaleel Ahmed.
Punjab Kings: Prabhsimran Singh (w), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (c), Shashank Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, and Yuzvendra Chahal.
