When we talk of conservation, we often think of trees, water, mammals and birds. However, Rohit Girotra, who, in the past few years, has popularized butterfly walks, and indeed, has discovered several species of butterflies in and around Bangalore, writes:
Bangalore is surrounded by beautiful spots for watching butterflies. Camp Gee Dee in Shivanahalli, is one of these havens. Camp Gee Dee is home to a host of birds, reptiles, mammals and butterflies. At last count we had recorded around 100 butterfly species in the Camp Gee Dee grounds.
What makes Camp Gee Dee special is its proximity to Bannerghatta NP. Owing to this we’ve seen species which have not been recorded from / rarely seen in any other part of Bangalore. These include – Cornelian, Leaf Blue, Large Guava Blue, Southern Birdwing, Golden Angle, Common Snow Flat, Moore’s Ace, Common Banded Peacock, Monkey Puzzle. Needless to say, the place is a treasure trove for Butterfly Watchers.
Mr. Vishnu, the owner of the property is an enthusiastic nature lover. He has always opened his property for nature lovers to explore and find new species. However, when our group last went there, we found Mr. Vishnu very disturbed. He informed us that the Granite mining mafia had been continuously blasting rock from the nearby areas. This activity given the proximity to Bannerghatta NP would be both illegal as well as a health hazard for the folks living in that area. He mentioned that when he took up issue with the miners, he started receiving threats.
The local administration and police initially took this up but no FIR has been registered yet. TV9 initially covered the issue but things seem to have fallen cold.
We’ve all been to Camp Gee Dee. We’ve all seen what a wonderful place it is. It would be great if we could reach out to contacts in the press, share with our other collegues regarding this issue. Whatever we can do would be a big help in saving Camp Gee Dee from falling into the hands of the mining mafia.
For more details, please reach Mr. Vishnu on +91 94480 82940
Click this link on environmentclearance.nic.in
These delicate creatures of the light and air are under threat as much as their larger fellow-creatures…and now is the time to wake up and act.