Flyover to beat a ban

Even as the Kerala Government is making desperate attempts to see that the ban on night traffic through the Bandipur forests are lifted, nothing much has come of it.

Karnataka, which had earlier banned movement of traffic on the road connecting it to Kerala through its Bandipur forests, has been exploring avenues to resolve the ticklish issue.

Karnataka has promised an alternative route to Kerala it has not been well-received by Kerala and its traders and businessmen. Kerala continues to insist that the best and fastest mode of transport is through the forest route alone.

Karnataka, on its part, is concerned over the rising animal deaths due to increased road traffic in the forest. It says a large number of animals, including a tiger, have been killed by vehicles over the years. It says just between 2004 to 2007,  no less than 91 mammals, 56 birds and 75 reptiles were crushed by vehicles on the Bandipur forest road.

Several measures to slow down vehicles on the forest stretch, construction of road humps imposing speed limits, increasing the watch and ward staff have not met with the desired success.

Now, traders, tourist operators and regular commercial users of the road have come with a unique alternative to resolve the imbroglio. This idea, perhaps, would be the first of its kind in India.

The transport tourist operators have mooted the idea of a flyover covering the forest to link the two states. The flyover would be as long as eighteen kilometers and what is more it would completely eliminate the need for any measure to control, monitor or even regulate road traffic.

The flyover, these operators say, would allow the animals the much needed space on the ground, while permitting unrestricted and unrestrained movement of vehicles above the ground. Thus, as against the present ban, the flyover would facilitate 24 hour movement of vehicles.        

The idea is still in infancy but the traders are sure that it will take shape after the Supreme Court takes a final decision on the night ban on movement of vehicles.

The night ban was first put in place by the Chamarajanagar administration following increasing deaths of animals caused by speeding vehicles.

This ban was upheld by the Karnataka High Court and it is now before the Supreme Court. The Karnataka High Court had upheld the closure of vehicular traffic through the two highways passing through Bandipur on March 9, 2010.

About 13 kilometres of national highway (NH) 212 and 20 kms of NH 67 that connect Karnataka with Kerala pass through the core area of  Bandipur forests. The Karnataka High Court had banned traffic between 9 p.m., and 6 a.m., on these roads.

The matter is at present pending before the Supreme Court as Special Leave petition (SLP) 13838/2010, 24865 and 24866/2012.

Transport and tourist operators and traders claim they are incurring heavy losses due to the night ban on traffic. They claim that the  cost required for construction of flyover is much less when compared to losses incurred by them and also the loss of animal life.

The flyover would cost in the region of Rs. 1,200 crores and the cost would have to be shared between the two states of Karnataka and Kerala and the Central Government.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka Government had already released Rs. 48 crore for the upgradation of the alternative road passing through  Hunsur-Gonikoppa-Kutta-Kartikulam, which is only 30 km longer than the Bandipur forest road and this road can be used at night too. The upgradation of the alternative road is nearly complete, he added. Similarly, the discussion on Nanjangud-Nilambur railway line project is before the National Green Tribunal, Chennai.

(Application No. 156/2013).

The Town of eight hills

It is a town that we come across when we go to Biligiri Ranga Hills (BR Hills) from Bangalore. It was believed to have been first established by the Cholas. Therefore, it was then called Ilamaraduru Nadu in ancient Tamil Scripts.

On their part, the Cholas called it Cholendrasimha Chaturvedi Mangalam. Kannadigas called it Hadhinadu Pranthya.

The town is also part of the smallest taluk in the district in which it is located. It is surrounded by eight hills of which Biligiri is the most famous.

The town boats of a couple of historic and unique temples. There is a temple dedicated to Varaha, one of the Dashavatars of Vishnu.

Varaha is the third avatar of  Vishnu and there is also a shrine of Ganapathi here at its south-west corner. This Ganapathi is growing every year.

The other temple is that of Gaurishvara.It a Vijayanagar style structure constructed around 1550 when Devabhupala or Singadepa was the local ruler. It was subsequently rebuilt during  1654 -1655 by Muddabhupa, grandson of Devabhupala.

The temple has a unique entrance called Bale Mantapa (Bangle entrance) which features some of the most exquisite stone carvings on the walls and pillars. These carvings depict mythological stories of the slaying of the demon Andhakasura, Lord Narasimha  in different postures, Vali, Sugreeva and Krishna.

The carved stone chain rings - 20 cm each- adorn the four corners and the door side of the entrance and this gives it the name of Bale Mantapa. The entrance was built by Muddabhupa or Mudduraja in 1654 (We can see similar stone chains in the temple in Talakadu).

During the Vijayanagar Empire, this town and its surrounding areas were known for its riches. Till Independence, it was the jagir of a former Dewan of the Mysore Kingdom. After 1847, the Imam properties were abolished and taken over by the Government and this town initially came under Mysore district.

A few decades ago, it became part of Chamarajanagar district. Today, it stands at the entrance to the busy BR Hills Road. However, only a handful of the thousands of tourists, wildlife enthusiasts and Nature lovers who throng to BR Hills give a second glance to this town.

Not many realise that they would have missed a date with history by not spending time here. This is the town of Yelandur, which once was the jagir of Dewan Purnaiah. The jagirship continued till 1947 when it was abolished and the place integrated with the rest of the district.

Yelandur is surrounded by eight hills: to the East rises the magnificent Shwetha Giri (Billigri), to the South-East is Mallinatha Giri, to the South is Suragiri, to the South-West Shankareshwara Giri, to the West Mallikarjuna Giri, to the North-West Shambulingana Giri, to the North Srisaila Giri and to North-East Nirmala Giri.

All these hills are accessible from this town which is an oasis of greenery. The town has produced several great personalities such as Narashima Bhatta, the Ayurvedic expert (1790), Sanchi Honnamma (1680) and Vishalaksha Pandit, the Jain Vidwan.        

Yalandur is the smallest taluk in Chamarajanaar district with just 33 villages. It is situated about 60 km south-west of Mysore and about 150 km south of  Bangalore.

In history days, the town was called Ramachndra Yelanbure. Later.  it became Yelandur. Today, it is known as the town surrounded by eight hills. 

An animal paradise

It was once the private hunting reserve of the Maharaja of Mysore. Today, it is perhaps the only place in India where you can still see elephants in hundreds gathering at the river side. This has become such a regular occurrence that tourists and visitors flock to this place to see this magnificent spectacle.

This is also the best place in the Indian sub continent to look up the Dhole or the Indian wild dog. The place is also a known centre for the Indian Giant Squirrel which can be seen, curled up in trees holes and branches during the day.

It is also a designated tiger reserve and it has a wide variety of flora and fauna that perhaps is unparalleled. Together with several other forests, it forms part of one of the largest protected areas in India.  

This is the Bandipur forests that is nestled in Gundlupet taluk of Chamarajanagar district amid the Western Ghats and it is located on the Mysore-Ooty highway. The Nilgiri hills is just across the forests. Just 80 kilometres or 50 miles from the royal city of Mysore, Bandipur hosts one of the best and also among the first tiger reserves of the country.

The Bandipur National Park is a contiguous forest and adjoins the neighbouring wildlife sanctuaries of Mudumalai National Park in Tamil Nadu and Wayanad in Kerala.

Together, the forests total 2,183 km or 843 sq miles making it the largest protected areas in south India. The Bandipur park spans an area of 874 square kilometers or 337 sq miles, while Nagarhole is spread over 643 kms  or 248 sq mi, Madhumalai 320 kms or 120 sq mi and Wynad  344 kms or 133 sq miles. They all form part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.

This is one of the 15 sanctuaries belonging to the Project Tiger Scheme when it was initially launched in 1973 by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Today, it has over 70 tigers. In 1974, Bandipur was declared a National Park under the Wildlife Protection Act.

Bandipur is regarded as one of the most spectacular places to watch huge elephant herds which congrete at the Kabini river. .

The drier south east  corner of  Bandipur has scrub forests. During the dry months of March-May, the elephants stay close to rivers and lakes. During this time, elephant sightings are very common in Nagarhole national park.

Mastigudi also reports large gatherings of 100 or so Indian Elephants on the banks of the Kabini lake. There are reportedly more than 5000 elephants, a fifth of the world population of Asiatic elephants. Bandipur is probably the best place in the subcontinent for seeing Dhole.

Since the reserve is bifurcated by a road connecting Karnataka and Kerala, there are a lot of vehicles and the heavy traffic has ld to several animal deaths. The Karnataka High Court has banned traffic between dusk and dawn in an effort to reduce man-animal conflict and bring down animal deaths.

Bandipur has an interesting history. It was started by the Maharaja of Mysore in 1931 and called Venugopala Wildlife sanctuary. In 1973, it was declared a tiger reserve and 800 kms was added to it. Since the park is located where the Deccan plateau meets the Western Ghats, the altitude ranges from 680 meters (2,230 ft) to 1,454 meters (4,770 ft). As a result, the park has a variety of biomas including dry deciduous forests, moist deciduous forests and shrub lands.

Thus the range of habitats help support a diverse range of organisms. The park is flanked by the Kabini in the north and the Moyar in the south with the Nugu river running through it. The Moyar forms the natural boundary between Bandipur and Madhumalai. There are twelve streams and small rivulets that flow in and around the park. The highest point in the park is on a hill called Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta, where there is a beautiful temple at the summit.

Bandipur has several varieties of teak trees. The best time to see wildlife is March to April, but the climate is pleasant and temperate from November to February.

Apart from elephants, dholes  and tigers, Bandipur supports gaurs, bears, antelpos, muggers, rock pythons, langurs, peafowls, drongos, buzzards, vultures, eagles, snakes, monitor lizards and several others mammals and reptiles. The wild boar can be seen in clearings or rooting near water bodies. Gaur and chital can be seen grazing in forest clearings.

Bandipur is classified as an important bird area and at the latest count there were more than 180 species.

Bandipur is also known for its butterflies and the species include , Common Jezebel, Southern Birdwing, Common Rose, Crimson Rose, Common Jay, Tailed, Lime Butterfly, Malabar Raven, Common Mormon, Red Helen, Blue Mormon, , Common Wanderer, Mottled Emigrant, Common Grass Yellow, Spotless Grass Yellow, One spot Grass Yellow, Nilgiri Clouded Yellow, Psyche, Common Gull., Caper White or Pioneer, Small Orange Tip or Lesser Orange Tip, White Orange Tip, Large Salmon Arab, Common Evening Brown, Great Evening Brown, Common Palmfly, Common Bushbrown, Glad Eye Bushbrowm, Red Disk Bushbrown, Red Eye Bushbrown, Lepcha Bushbrown, Nigger, Common Threering, Common Fourring, Common Fivering, Tawny Coster, Rustic, Common Leopard, Indian Fritillary, Common Sailer, Colour Sergeant, Chestnutstreaked Sailer, Grey Count, Red Baron or Baronet, Angled Castor, Common Castor Aridane merione, Yellow Pansy, Lemon Pansy, Peacock Pansy, Chocolate Pansy, Orange Pansy, Blue Pansy, Grey Pansy, Blue Admiral, Glassy Blue Tiger, Blue Tiger, Dark Blue Tiger, Plain Tiger, Striped Tiger/ Common Tiger, Danaid Eggfly, Great Eggfly, Common Crow, Brown King Crow, Common Pierrot, Angled Pierrot, Banded Blue Pierrot, Striped Pierrot, Dark Pierrot, Red Pierrot, Lime Blue, Zebra Blue, Gram Blue, Common Cerulean, Tiny Grass Blue, Dark Grass Blue, Indian Cupid, Large Four-Line Blue, Common Silverline, Plum Judy, Plain Scupid, Pea Blue, Metallic Cerulean, Chestnut Bob, Dark Palm Dart, Brown awl

Ant species include Anenictus sp1, Anoplolepis longipes,Camponotus parius, Crematogaster biroi, Crematogaster sp 1, Crematogaster sp 2, Diacamma rugosum, Lepisiota capensis,Leptogenys chinesis, Leptogenys coonorensis, Leptogenys diminuta, Lophomyrmex quadripinosus, Meranoplus bicolor, Monomorium indicum, Myrmicaria striata, Myrmicaria brunnea, Oligomyrmex wroughtonii, Pachycondyla sp1, Paratrechina sp1, Pheidole sharpi, Pheidole sp1, Pheidole sp2, Pheidologeton diverus, Polyrhachis exercita, Solenopsis geminate, Tetraponera rufonigra, Tetraponera sp1.

The Dung beetles found in Bandipur include Catharsius granulatus, Copris indicus, Oniticellus cinctus,  Onitis singhalensis, Onthophagus beesoni, Onthophagus ensifer, Onthophagus ranam,   Onthophagus sp.107, Onthophagus tarandus, Picnopanaleus rotundus, Caccobius diminutives, Caccobius ultor, Copris furciceps, Copris sp,  Heliocopris dominus, Pseudonthophagus sp, Sisyphus neglectus, Caccobius inermis, Caccobius meridionalis., Caccobius torticornis, Caccobius sp, Copris sodalist, Onthophagus socialis, Onthophagus sp.301, Onitis phelemon, Onthophagus furcillifer, Caccobius gallinus, Onthophagus rufulgens, Onthophagus sp, Copris repertus, Pseudonthophagus sp.1, Copris davisoni, Onitis falcatus, Onthophagus turbatus, Copris imitans, Onthophagus quadridentatus, Caccobius vulcanus, Liatongus affinis, Oniticellus spinipes, Sisyphus longipus, Onthophagus dama.

There are several species of butterflies and beetles which are yet to be identified. You can travel around the park in open jeeps which are available on hire inside the park and check out the butterflies and other smaller wildlife.

Bandipur also provides open vans with guides.The elephant safari here is famous and you could actually tour the park sitting on the back of an elephant. Another famous activity is the Boat Safari, where you will be taken upstream on the Kabini to where the river itself separates the Nagarhole from Bandipur.

Today, on the banks of the Kabini, one can witness the largest congregation of Asiatic elephants, peacefully feeding and getting on with their lives. In addition to diverse wildlife sighted on the extensive river banks, the boat safari offers an opportunity to observe the Marsh Crocodile, Smooth-coated Otter and myriad water birds.

If you are a sociologist or anthropologist, trek to Mangala village which has tribal colony and get to know their life. 

Bandipur is easily accessible from Mysore, Chamarajanagar, Nanjangud and Gundlupet. There are plenty of buses and private transport. The Jungle Lodges and resorts operates a resort. There are cottages operated by the Forest Department, a hotel by the Karnataka Tourism Department and some privately managed cottages as well. Gundlupet is the closest town and it is about 20 kms away. 

Nanjangud is the nearest railway head and so is Mysore. The nearest airport is Mysore. Chamarajanagar and Gundlupet is the nearest major bus terminus. There are direct buses from Bangalore and Mysore to Bandipur.  

Visitors can book accommodation and safari vehicle online either through Credit Card or Debit Card. Log on onto the official website of Bandipur Tiger Reserve, www.bandipurtigerreserve.in

The Bandipur Tiger Reserve has seven cottages and four dormitories - totaling about 95 beds, out of which four cottages and three dormitories (totaling 77 beds) are offered for online booking. The remaining is reserved for emergency and for officers on duty. Of the five safari buses, four are offered for online booking. The booking can be done one month in advance or before the actual date of journey.

Tourists will be charged 1.95 per cent extra towards banking transaction charges. The entire amount will go to Bandipur Tiger Conservation Foundation fund, which works for Conservation of the wildlife and welfare of employees.

Special entry permits are required to enter the park and they can be obtained from the Forest Department office at the entrance.

Besides entry fee, additional fee is levied on cameras and vehicles.

A cure for Kalasarpa Dosha

This is one of the holiest pilgrimage spots of one of the oldest religions of the world. It is barely 54 kilometers away from the royal city of Mysore and yet it is not as widely heard of as other pilgrim centres.

Emperors and Kings patronised the shrine on the hill here and monks and seers performed penance for decades, seeking salvation and nirvana. shrine and pious monks lived here doing their penance for centuries.

The pilgrim centre is all the more famous as Mahaveera, one of the Jain theerthankaras, is believed to have passed through this place, Today, this centre, which is surrounded by lush green forests and captivating wildlife, is slowly emerging from obscurity and it is becoming a major tourist and wildlife attraction.

This is Kanakagiri, one of the holiest of  pilgrim places for the Jains and an unmatched tourist destination which offers a little bit of everything-wildlife, ancient temples, legends and local myths, trekking, Nature and  ever green forests. Add to this good, clean and fairly reasonable accommodation and excellent food at the Jain centre and you have the perfect picnic spot.

Kanakagiri in Chamarajanagar district is 53 Kms away from Mysore and it is adjoining  Maleyuru, the small village which is connected by bus from Mysore,  Nanjangud and Chamarajanagar.

The Kanakagiri hill centuries ago was known as Hemanga Desha and Jain accounts speak of Mahaveera once having passed through this place during his southern sojourn.

What sets this place apart fro other Jain centres such as Shravanabelagola and Moodabidari is its relative seclusion and evergreen surroundings. Set 18 kms from Chamarajanagar, this pilgrim spot was the very place where one of the most famous Jain author, grammarian and scholar, Ācārya Pūjyapāda, lived. The acharya belonged to the Didambara sect of the Jains and before initiation as a Jain ascetic, he was known as Devanandi.

Jains believed and still do that as the Acharya was worshiped by demigods on account of his  scholarship and deep piety, he was named Pūjyapāda.

He was heavily influenced by the writings of his predecessors like Ācārya Kundakunda and Ācārya Samantabhadra. He is rated as among the greatest of the early masters of Jain literature.

He wrote in Sanskrit, in prose as well as verse form. He was a pontiff of the Nandi sangha, which was a part of the lineage of Ācārya Kundakunda. He was the tenth guru of the Sangha. What makes the Acharya and his association with Kanakagiri all the more important to Kannadigas is that he was from a Brahmin family from Karnataka and his parents were Madhava Bhatta and Shridevi.

Ācārya Pūjyapāda was the guru of Emperor Durvinita of the Ganga dynasty and we can, therefore, date his period as having lived between 464 - 524 AD.

He later chose this hillock for his penance and attained salvation here itself. The inscriptions, engravings of footprints, samadhi mantapas and nishadi caves in the hill here throw much light on the heritage of the place as well as the history of Jain religion.

There is an interesting story on how the hill got its name. The Acharya’s nephew Nagarjuna, who lived here, was driven to poverty after the death of his father. He undertook rigorous penance in a cave on the hill and acquired the power to convert everything he laid his hands on into gold. Ecstatic with newly found magical powers, he began to convert the entire hill into gold. However Goddess Padmavathi Devi, who had granted him the boon, prevented him from misusing the boon further and directed him to build a temple.

Nagarjuna then built the present temple of Sri Parshwanatha on the hill. Locals to this day swear that fragments of gold could be seen around the hillock and hence the name Kanakagiri or the hillock of gold. When the temple was completed, it came to be known as Athishaya Kshetra Kanakagiri.

When Hoysala Emperors worshiped here and won a major battle,
they called this place as Vijaya Parshwanatha. The Gangas, Emperors of Vijayanagar and Wodeyar Kings all came here.

Coming to the hill, 370 steps have been cut out from the rock face to enable the devotees to climb up to the hill shrine. A motorable road is also being laid, side by side, to the top. The flight of steps passing through the arches leads to the northern entrance of the temple.
The sanctum has an attractive three foot image of Parshwanatha. The images of Kushmandini and Padmavathi Devi face each other. A rare feature of the images is that the goddesses are believed to be embodiments of Rahu and Kethu respectively.

They are believed to have a special force, Divyashakthi, between them to eliminate the ill-effects of Rahu and Kethu, known as Kalasarpa Dosha. Thus Kanakagiri is the only place where Rahu and Kethu face each other. Thousands of people troubled by planetary effects visit the place and seek solace and solution.

Even Queen Deveerammanni of  the Wodeyars from Mysore visited the temple to find a solution to her problems. Once her problems were solved, she presented a specially made snakehood with the figures of Dharanendra and Padmavathi to the temple.
A walk behind the temple takes you to Nagarjuna Guhe, the cave where Nagarjuna sat in meditation. The pond nearby has fresh water all through the year and this water is used for abhisheka in the temple.

The hill is punctuated by small, pink coloured cells with the footprints of twenty four Jain Thirthankaras. In the centre of the footprints is a large mantapa bearing the footprints of  Pujyapada. The view of the surrounding forests from the top of the hill is panoramic.
The Jain math, at the base of the hill, serves free meals as prasada for all the visitors everyday. Accommodation is also available here.

Maleyuru
Maleyuru village is just three kilometers from Kanakagiri and both share a close bond. It was once one of the important Jain centres in the world and it is well known for its sandalwood.

According to a legend, Princess Jevandara of the Ganga dynasty attained sainthood at the behest of Mahaveera when he visited this place. Many saints undertook penance and attained Kevala Jnana and salvation atop the hill.

Jain ascetics Supratishta Munivarya of Suryapura and Jnanachandra Munivarya preached here to the devotees and thus propagated the principles of Jain religion.

The nearest railway station to approach Kanakagiri is Chamarajanagar.  For accommodation and other details contact  Sri Digambar Jain Mutt, Sri Kshetra Kanakagiri, 571128, Chamarajanagar district, Karnataka: Phone - 91 08226 296786

Nearby is the Survarnavathi reservoir. Large herds of elephants can be seen in the waters of this reservoir during May-June. The scenic beauty of Nature around the dam is breathtaking and is a spot worth visiting.

A story of ivory and sandalwood

A few days ago, when passing through the lush green forests of BR Hills, we came across a herd of elephants. A forest official whom we met told us that wildlife in MM Hills- BR Hills area had increased following the death of Veerappan, the forest brigand.

The official claimed that Veerappan killedm ore than 2000 elephants and cut down thousands of sandalwood trees. Though Veerappan is dead and gone, his legend still continues to live on. Many facets of his life still continue to excite curiosity and one such is the number of elephants he killed and the huge amount of money he made out of the sale of elephants tusks and cutting down of sandalwood trees.

Veerappan first attained notority for poaching elephants for ivory and looting forests for sandalwood. Over years, his legend grew and people believed that he killed more than 200 elephants over a 25-year period till his death on October 4, 2004.

However, wildlife experts believe that  actual figures relating to both crimes have been highly overestimated.

The media reports and villagers of scores of Chamarajnagar district where Veerappan often came calling for food and medicines peg the number of elephants that the bandit killed at 2000. This number is the figure of total number of elephants that have been killed in the entire south over several decades and not in Karnataka-Tamil Nadu forests.

More than 95 per cent of the elephants that Veerappan killed were males. Veerappan and his gang members were involved in the killing of a little more than 500 elephants over a 25 year period. Even here, the figure may be a little difficult to arrive at as villagers and even police laid the blame for almost all tusker deaths in Karnataka-Tamil Nadu and Kerala forests to Veerappan.

He mainly operated in the jungles of  Erode, Dharmapuri, Satyamangalam, Chamarajanagar and Kollegal forests and also the forests on the fringes of the Nilgiris. Veerappan rarely if ever went into the jungles of the Western Ghats to poach elephants.

However, there is no doubt that Verappan minted money through sale of ivory and sandalwood. We can arrive at the money Veerappan made if we take the average weight of the tusks of elephants that he killed.

Wildlife expert and renowned scientist Sukumar has said that the mean tusk weight during the late 1970s and early 1980s of a tusker was around 20 kilograms. This weight had dropped to around 10 kilogram an elephant by the late 1980s and this was due to intensive poaching in the area. In 1980, the price of raw ivory in the open market was around Rs.1,300 a kg and in 1989 when the international ban on ivory finally came into effect it stood at  Rs.3,000.

The price of ivory per kilogram was Rs.5,000 in 1995 and by 1996 it was Rs.10,000. Today it hovers around Rs.14,000.

If we take the weight of the tusk of an average elephants to be 15 kgs, the amount of raw ivory that the Veerappan gang would have sawn off if it had poached 500 elephants would be 7,500 kg or a little more. If we take the average price of Rs.3,000 a kilogram, it would mean that Veerappan got Rs.2.25 crores.

Police have definite clues that Veerappan sold most of the ivory he poached to traders in Kerala, from where it found its way to carving centres.

Mind you, Veerappan had to pay off several people, including middlemen and others and thus he would  not have pocked the entire money alone. Since he lived in the forests, his minimum needs would have been really minimum and he would have stashed away a major part of the money even as he purchased arms and ammunition, food and medicines, tents and camp equipments from the rest of the money.

What is generally accepted is that Veerappan killed elephants and stored the ivory and sandalwood in forests of Karnataka. Villagers of  MM Hills mainatin that they had seen Veerappan sitting atop lorries loaded with ivory and sandalwood. They say he personally receoved large amounts of money, while receivers were paid his share of the booty once the illegal sandalwood and ivory reached the buyers. 

So the question now is where is the money that Veerapppan managed to stash away. Is it in the many caves in the MM Hills-Satyamangala area or in his native of Gopinatham. Os is the money in the many underground bunkers he constructed so that he could stash away his loot.    

Care to find out where and Veerappan hid his loot and how he stayed in the forests for decades, eluding the police and forest officials. Take a trip to MM Hills and other areas and engage the locals as guides. They would only be too happy to point out the many areas in the forests associated with the bandit, including some gory spots where he killed and maimed law enforcement officials.

MM Hills-On the trail of a bandit

This is the area made famous or rather infamous by the forest brigand and bandit Veerappan. The area plays host to a variety of flora and fauna and it is located amid dense forests.

There are several temples located within the confines of the forest, which for several years, was deserted by humans for fear of Veerappan. But once Veerappan died, nature lovers, trekkers and wildlife enthusiasts have returned in droves and today it is one of the most popular tourist destinations of Karnataka.

What is more the death of the bandit has also seen a sharp increase in the number of wildlife and trees such as sandalwood which Veerappan targeted. Elephants, wild boars, langurs, all of which were almost hunted to extinction, have once again made a remarkable recovery and today they too seem to be thriving.

The areas where Veerappan located himself in the deep jungles and some of the trails he followed are now tourist attractions and the Forest Department offers tourists a trek on the famed Veerappan trail.

What makes this area so ideal for a family get together today and a superb picnic spot is its nearness to Bangalore and Mysore. While Bangalore is 215 kilometres away, Mysore is about 145 kms and the area is MM Hills.

Located in Chamarajanagar district, Male Mahadeshwara (MM Hills) forest range, was once the very place where Veerappan operated with impunity. It was also here that Veerappan killed elephants and cut a large number of sandalwood trees.

Today, the very same area has recorded an increase in elephant, langur and bear population and al this is documented with the Forest Department. The department has also noticed an increase in number of  sandalwood trees in Ramapura, Changadi and M M Hills adjacent to the Cauvery Wild Life Sanctuary and also in neighbouring Tamil Nadu.

The M M Hills forest ranges today provide shelter to 167 elephants and a large number of sambar, panthers, leopard, deer, bear and langur.

Langur were hunted by Veerappan and his gang members as they believed that its meat is a good cure for asthma. Veerappan was an asthmatic.

Apart from the Forest Department, the Wildlife Conservation Society carried out a prey census. This would thow further light on the increasing population of wildlife in the forest.

Apart from the death of Veerappan, the rise in tusker population can also be attributed to the strict vigil by the anti-poaching squads. The squad keeps a close watch on wildlife from watch towers in 17 places and 11 anti-poaching camps in Tokere, Nadumallu, Yarkayadu, Huliseppatti, Mulpanchar areas in Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border.

The Changadi areas of MM hils and surrounding areas is known for sandalwood and timber. This is the very place where the body of former minister from Karnataka, Nagappa, was found. He had been killed by Veerappan

Apart from trekking, bird watching and photography, you can also visit the many caves in the hill ranges which Veerappan made us of when he was alive. The caves on the now quiet mountain tops offered the brigand a perfect hiding place.

It is in these ranges that Veerappan killed scores of people, including forest officials, police and villagers who he though were police informers.

If you come cross forest officers or local guides, they will point out  the many places where the bandit waylaid the STF team and murdered others. In Sorekaimadu, you can still see some huge pits on the forest road which are the sites where landmines blew up police vehicles in 1993, killing several STF men and maiming for life the then Superintendent of Police, Gopalakrishna.

Nearby this spot is Murugandi halla (nallah) where, on November 10, 1991, DCF Srinivas was shot from behind by Veerappan and beheaded while still alive. If you want to trek, the best route is from the Male Mahadeshwara Temple. Take the road to Nagamale from here which is about 2 kms away. From here, the climb is uphill through the villages of  Tulasikere, Indiganatta, K. Kane, Padsalanatta, Mendere, Nedaganane, Nagamale, Kokware, Toukere and Doddane and by the time you reach the Nagamale temple it will be hours of trekking.

Almost all the villages mentioned above were regular haunts of Veerappan and his gang members.

MM Hills is famous for the temple dedicated to Mahadeshwara,  an incarnation of Shiva. The Hills are surrounded by forests of the Eastern Ghats which is contiguous with the BR Hills Wildlife Sanctuary.

The Forest Department ( Ph:08224-252027 ) has identified many trekking trails and conducts trekking through these forests. The Stanley reservoir at Mettur in Tamil Nadu is just 30 km from here.

The Mahadeshwara temple offers fairly good accommodation. Log on to the temple website for more details.