R S Tejus @ MM Hills:
The track connecting Jellipalya in Karnataka to Makkanapalyam in Tamil Nadu cuts through one of the most fragile stretches of the Eastern Ghats – inside MM Hills Sanctuary, passing the Hoogyam Range and Jellipalya Beat. Locals and forest officials say the route has been in use for nearly 82 years. It is a game road, sources say and add that over decades, it has quietly morphed into a conduit for illegal trade traffic that thrives.
On 18th December 2025, the Jellipalya-Makkanapalyam stretch witnessed a fatal elephant attack. A villager died in this attack while using the Jellipalya-Makkanapalyam route. Sources say that a road has already been constructed without the know-how of officers and due to political pressure. Conservationist, say that the road has to be closed immediately for public use.
Sources in the Karnataka forest department say that personnel who is involved in the construction of the road will face consequences.
It is also said that all types of illegal wildlife trade and as well as other Pychotrophic substances are traded in this route and politicians are involved. Alongside, this route is also used for transport of farm produce. Conservationist state that it is important to strengthen the forest department in such critical areas especially in the interstate boundaries, the concerned Ranger will have to have a constant interaction with the Inspector of Police of the nearest police station as well as both the forest officers and police of Tamil Nadu.
Strategic deployment of well-built men in such areas is critical. Above all, there is a dire need for a strong political will. The forest officers will have to, in a majority of times, work under severe pressure from all sides. There is a need for a paradigm shift, said a renowned conservationist.
In a larger argument, the villagers alongside a few politicians especially from Tamil Nadu are pressuring for an “all-weather access,” road. This game road inside the boundaries of the MM Hills Sanctuary passes for a distance of approximately 4 km. There is another road but during the monsoon, this route is shut down completely, pushing pressure onto this forest track.
Bhaskar, DCF MM Hills Sanctuary said, “It is not a ROW (right of way), an alternate road exists while the construction of a bridge is pending.”
Crucially, the Jellipalya-Makkanapalyam track has no right of way for public access under the Reserve Forest notification issued during the Madras Forest Act era. It is a game road meant for forest protection, not civilian transit. Yet demands are mounting to open it year-round. The justification is convenience; the consequence will be irreversible fragmentation of one of the last remaining wildlife corridors linking Karnataka’s forests to villages across the Tamil Nadu border.
History offers a warning. Every kaccha road, once “temporarily” opened, becomes tomorrow’s black-topped highway – politically sanctified, administratively normalised, ecologically devastating. Once widened, traffic multiplies; once traffic multiplies, enforcement collapses. Elephants, already hemmed in by shrinking habitats, will pay the price – followed by forest staff and local communities caught in an escalating human-wildlife conflict.
This is not an infrastructure debate. It is a question of restraint. Opening this road fully would not just erase a forest line on a map; it would hollow out the ecological spine of MM Hills. Some roads are better left unbuilt or, in this case, un-legitimised.