A dispute regarding the alleged destruction of a large forest area has come forward especially since the reason for this is said to be for a movie shoot. The person in the line of fire is also Kannada actor Yash who gained fame after the KGF movies.
Matters related to the environment are becoming more and more concerning, leading to people being sensitive to them.
People are constantly being told to be environmentally conscious, recycle, and reuse, avoid certain items or products that are harmful to the climate, and more.
What Is The Bengaluru Forest Controversy?
According to reports, around 599 acres of forest area in the Peenya-Jalahalli region, currently under the possession of PSU Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) is at the centre of the controversy.
It is being alleged that hundreds of trees were cut down and cleared from this land to make space for the shoot of a movie called ‘Toxic’ starring Yash, most popular for his role in the commercially hit KGF series.
Reports claim that Karnataka’s Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre on Tuesday brought this up with top officials of his department.
He said that while visiting a few days ago to the forest land amid the ongoing dispute between HMT and the forest department he found he found large-scale destruction of trees and vegetation for the setup of a movie set.
He believes that this was also done without proper authorisation.
Eshward Khandre from his official X/Twitter also posted about this on 29 October 2024, writing in Kannada about the issue.
As per the English translation he wrote “H.M.T. The fact that hundreds of trees were illegally cut down and damaged for the shooting of the film ‘Toxic’ in the forest land under its control has raised serious concerns. This illegal act is clearly visible from the satellite images, I visited the place today and inspected it.
I have instructed to take immediate strict legal action against those responsible for this illegal act.
Protection of our forest and environment is a major responsibility of all of us. If illegal activities are found in forest land, I am committed to take strict action against them.”
Read More: Demystified: What Is The Froth You See In Yamuna, Why And How Of It
Another user @MNVGowda posting a video of Google Earth stills of the land over a few years wrote “I’ve seen concerns about the #ToxicTheMovie film team cutting down trees for their set at HMT layout Bengaluru. After checking Google Earth, it appears that the location has been mostly empty since 2012, with green patches in some years and again empty place, but not a dense forest.
That said, I strongly oppose any harm to NATURE, and the team could’ve considered alternative places to avoid any impact on nature. Currently the case is in court. And hope they plan to restore the area by planting trees afterward.”
Khandre in a letter addressed to his department instructed them to investigate the matter, examine satellite images, and figure out the extent of the tree clearance and whether appropriate permissions were taken.
He also directed that if this was unauthorized, forest offence cases be registered against the individuals and agencies involved in the matter.
Khandre writing to the forest, environment and ecology additional chief secretary on Tuesday stated that he was told by officials that a part of the forest land was cleared of trees and vegetation and then ‘rented out’ as space for a movie shoot to be set up at.
The letter also claimed that a gazette notification had declared the forest area as ‘reserved forest’ but was given to HMT without denotifying the land.
He wrote “HMT has already sold the forest land in its possession illegally to various govt and private agencies facilitating non-forest activities. It is evident from the satellite images that there is large-scale destruction of trees and vegetation on the forest land.
I also noticed that the HMT is renting out the forest land for film shooting and the vacant land on a daily rental basis. An art set has also been set up on the forest land allegedly sold to Canara Bank to facilitate the shooting of the movie for several months. Hundreds of trees and vegetation on the forest land have been illegally cleared.”
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: The Indian Express, Moneycontrol, Times Now News
Find the blogger: @chirali_08
This post is tagged under: Bengaluru, Karnataka, Yash, Kannada film star, kgf, kgf star, kgf yash, Toxic, Toxic movie, Toxic movie yash, Karnataka Forest Department, forest, deforestation, Environment, Environment minister, Environment india, Bengaluru forest
Disclaimer: We do not hold any right, or copyright over any of the images used, these have been taken from Google. In case of credits or removal, the owner may kindly mail us.
Other Recommendations:
Here’s How A Couple From Kerala Built A ‘Forest’ Around Their House To Practice Sustainable Living
