Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Eshwar Khandre has instructed officials of the Chikkamagaluru district administration to take measures to prevent damage to rural roads and water sources during off-road adventure activities organised by private organisations in the district this weekend.

Responding to complaints from environmentalists who had opposed the off-road activities in the district, the Minister directed the Chief Executive Officer of the Chikkamagaluru Zilla Panchayat to take strict measures against the organisers of the events if the activities damaged water sources or rural roads.

The environmentalists, in their complaints, alleged that participants in the adventure activity drive vehicles fitted with specially modified tyres over hilly terrain, which could damage the top layer of the terrain besides harming water sources.

Nagaraj Koove of the Biodiversity Environment and Agriculture Study Centre [BEAS] has written to the Deputy Commissioner of the district, urging him to stop the off-road activities planned in the district. “The private organisations have planned the activity at two locations in the district, both of which are adjacent to forest areas and a national park. The administration should not allow such activities, in the interest of safeguarding the flora and fauna of the region,” he said.