In Tamil Naudu, green activists are up in arms against construction of three new roads being in the forest area of the state. Hardly just two months ago the Sathyamangalam wildlife sanctuary in the state was classified as a tiger reserve by the Union Environment Ministry and the roads are being laid. The activists believe the roads will disrupt and disturb wildlife in the region.
Interestingly, two of the three road schemes are being promoted by the Tamil Nadu Forest Department itself, which had pursued the tiger reserve status, to protect and preserve the forest areas bordering Karnataka. The new roads are Malliammandurgam road linking Kadambur West beat and TN Palayam range, Belathur forest road linking Belathur beat and Thalavadi range and Gundri road linking Gundri beat and TN Palayam range.
They are in different stages of construction and if fully implemented they would be detrimental to both traditional forest dwellers and animals. The department is going ahead with the forest roads despite protests by green activists,’ said K Mohanraj of Tamil Nadu green movement. According to forest department sources, the Malliammandurgam road is about 8 km long. It starts from Kadambur and is situated within the core areas of the tiger reserve.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.