1 week Ago
Opposition leader R Ashoka has criticised the Karnataka government for permitting the shooting of a Malayalam film in the Himavad Gopalaswamy Hills, which fall under the Bandipur Tiger Reserve. He mocked the Congress government, saying that the state administration had been shifted from Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru to Wayanad, the Lok Sabha constituency of Priyanka Gandhi. The Forest Assistant Conservator clarified that local authorities did not grant permission for filming in the ecologically sensitive area and that the film crew had obtained approval at the government level.
R Ashoka demanded to know who had given permission at the government level. Earlier, the Karnataka Forest Department had provided compensation to the family of a person killed in an elephant attack in Wayanad. That action was taken following a letter from then Wayanad MP and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
Similarly, Ashoka asked the government to clarify whether there was any directive from the Congress High Command to permit the film shoot. Environmental activists had raised strong objections on Tuesday against the film shoot in the Himavad Gopalaswamy Hills, which are part of the heavily restricted Bandipur Wildlife Sanctuary. Following this outcry, the opposition leader came forward with his criticism.
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