Geo-Eye

Abstract

The Bannerghatta National Park (BNP) is mainly comprised of tropical mixed dry deciduous forest, grasslands and rocky patches, Located in southern India. It is situated 22 km south of Bangalore city. Established in 1971, the BNP represents an area of 256 km2. BNP is surrounded by stone quarries in all direction which have been operational since many years. The effects of such quarrying operations on the jungle and its inhabitants are disastrous. The destruction caused by these operations is wide-spread and permanent. The distribution and spread of quarries from 1970s to 2015, the problems arising because of its effect on vegetation, forest ecosystem, biological diversity and solid waste are discussed in this paper. Quarries are seriously degrading water, air, soil quality, vegetation and forest ecosystem as a whole. Villages and agricultural lands coming under the influence are severely affected. Health and wellbeing of the villagers are also compromised. The study discusses the effects of quarrying operations on the adjacent forest. All the active and abandoned quarrying in and around BNP are analyzed using GIS and Remote Sensing.

Keywords: Environment, Quarrying, Rocks, Health and degrading water, air and soil quality.