Mysuru: Karnataka forest department is mulling to extend the timing of night travel ban on Kollegal- Kozhikode National Highway 766 passing through Bandipur Tiger Reserve. The director of the tiger reserve P Ramesh Kumar informed that a letter would be forwarded to the state government requesting to fix the traffic ban timing between 6 pm and 6 am. 

The current night travel ban is from 9 pm to 6 am. Several environmentalists have also requested to increase the travel ban timing to 12 hours. 

A wild elephant died on Wednesday after hitting a truck on the road between Gundlupet and Muthanga. This incident urged the forest officials to propose extending traffic ban timing through the National Park. The department will report both merits and demerits in increasing the time limit. “Most of the accidents are caused by overspeeding. Hence, even introducing restrictions for only heavy vehicles for more hours will turn crucial”, opined P Ramesh Kumar. 

Two roads to Ooty and Kozhikode pass through the Bandipur Tiger Reserve. Karnataka government launched the night travel ban for the first time in 2009 to avoid the then recurring cases of accidents and animal deaths during night in these roads. Huge protests rose from Kerala a the state subsequently approached Supreme Court against the night travel ban. However, attempts to revoke the travel ban turned futile.