Bengaluru: Days after the shocking death of a 10-year-old boy who was dragged away and killed by a leopard in the forests of MM Hills Wildlife Sanctuary in Chamarajanagar, the Karnataka government on Tuesday suspended trekking expeditions and public movement in wildlife-sensitive forest areas across the state with immediate effect. Fearing more incidents of human-animal conflict, forest minister Eshwar Khandre directed forest officials to halt trekking and other eco-tourism activities on forest trails of Karnataka frequented by leopards, tigers, elephants and sloth bears.On Sunday, a leopard dragged away 10-year-old pilgrim Harishith from Bengaluru while he was on his way to the Nagamale hill shrine along with his family members and mauled him to death on the spot. The incident was not isolated, as a similar case was reported in January 2026 when another pilgrim from Mandya district was attacked and killed by a leopard while trekking to the same shrine. Following the back-to-back incidents, both the forest department and the MM Swamy Kshetra Development Authority have come under criticism from pilgrims for allegedly failing to ensure adequate safety arrangements and deployment of security personnel.Alarmed by the latest incident, Khandre held a meeting with senior officials and instructed them to immediately suspend trekking programmes on routes witnessing wildlife movement, particularly of leopards, tigers, elephants and sloth bears. According to directions issued by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden, trekking and eco-tourism activities will remain suspended until further notice in all vulnerable stretches across Karnataka where adequate safety mechanisms are not in place.The minister also directed officials to ensure strict compliance with the recently issued Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) framed for eco-tourism and trekking activities. Officials have been told that trekking should resume only after ensuring preparedness and full adherence to the SOP guidelines. Nagamale, located in Hanur taluk of Chamarajanagar district, falls within the jurisdiction of MM Hills Wildlife Sanctuary. The forest department operates a trekking trail to Nagamale by collecting fees from trekkers. Both pilgrims and trekkers have to climb nearly three kilometres from the remote Indiganatha village to reach the hill shrine.The Karnataka Forest Department and the Karnataka Eco-Tourism Development Board have also been directed to review safety measures, assess wildlife movement patterns and put in place precautionary mechanisms before reopening trekking routes to the public.
