Palakkad, October 8, 2015
An environmental catastrophe is lurking in the
Nelliampathy hill ranges, home to the Parambikulam Tiger Reserve and
numerous streams irrigating farmlands in Palakkad and Thrissur districts
of Kerala and Coimbatore and Tirupur districts of Tamil Nadu.
Located
in a geographically unstable area, the hills, once known for supplying
the finest oranges to Buckingham Palace in Great Britain, is now paying
the price for large-scale deforestation in the past two decades and the
threat from extensive granite carrying in the foothills.
Ban sought
“Only
a blanket ban on quarrying in areas such as Muthalamada, Seetharkund,
and Chulliar can save the hills and the rivers it feeds from an imminent
destruction. Located on the southern tip of the Palakkad Ghats, the
hills are now witnessing frequent tremors,” says ecologist S. Satish
Chandran.
“Chittoor taluk is the only area in Kerala
with black cotton soil formed from old lava flows. Such soil, although
very fertile, do not permit adequate water percolation. So, groundwater
replenishment is very slow in the foothills. This is further worsened by
the destruction of small hillocks and deforestation in Nelliampathy by
powerful estate lobbies,” he said.
“Heavy blasting in
the foothills would have deleterious consequences on groundwater
reserves. There are four medium irrigation dams along the base of
Nelliampathy and two storage reservoirs. High up, there are the three
dams forming part of the Parambikulam-Aliyar project. Just across the
border is the Aliyar storage reservoir. Probably, this tract has the
most number of large dams in this part of the country,” he said.
“In
2003, Nelliampathy was declared an approved hill station of the Union
government. As per law, each hill station requires a master plan for
development. Despite intense pressure from conservationists, the State
government has not so far drafted the master plan and allowed the
private estates to engage in unscientific constructions to tap tourism
potential. Loss-making estates are now finding tourism as a means to
bail out of the crisis,” said social worker P.S. Panicker.
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