Rahul Gandhi criticises traffic ban, says it's a hardship for public

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said the nine-hour traffic ban on the national highway passing through the Bandipur reserve has caused hardship to lakhs of people in Kerala and Karnataka and asked the central and state governments to safeguard the interests of local communities while protecting the environment.

The ban was from 9 pm to 6 am

The movement of traffic through the tiger reserve is banned on this stretch from 9 pm to 6 am. The ban through the reserve forest was intended to reduce disturbance to wildlife. Gandhi, who is an MP from Wayanad in Kerala, also talked about the youth that is on an indefinite hunger strike against the ban.

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Youth hunger strike

In a series of tweets, Gandhi, while expressing his disappointment towards the ban, said that the ban has created a difficulty for the public and expressed his solidarity with the youth who have been on an indefinite hunger strike since multiple days.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had, last month, batted in favour of an elevated highway through the Bandipur National Park connecting Wayanad in Kerala and Mysore in Karnataka. The ban has been affecting the people of Wayanad, Kozhikode and Malappuram districts.

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