JOIN USShelve Shishila-Bhairapura NH project: Environmentalists
Environmentalist organisations have urged the National Highway Authority to shelve the proposed project to lay a four-laned national highway on the Shishila-Bhairapura route.
The road would pass through the rain forests in the Western Ghats and the environmentalists said that the work would greatly harm the Western Ghat region.
The activists have said that people from Chikkamagaluru can reach the coastal region through other routes such as Mudigere-Charmadi, Kalasa-Kudremukh and Sringeri-Karkala. Also, they can enter through Sakleshpur-Subrahmanya, Sakleshpur-Shiradi or Agumbe-Udupi roads. The work of the proposed road, which comes at a cost of destruction of forests and hills on the Western Ghats, is not worthwhile, they have argued.
Biodiversity
The Shishila-Bhairapura stretch houses a wide range of biodiversity. The region, which receives an annual rainfall of 300 inch, has every reason to be preserved.
The National Highway Authority should note that the newly proposed road covers 83 km while the distance covered by the existing Mudigere-Ujire route through Charmadi road is only 53 km. The proposed road would have to pass through the Baluru-Miyaru reserve forest or the Kabbinale-Shiradi reserve forest. Felling of trees in evergreen forests would be inevitable if the road project is to be realised.
'Landslides possible'
Also, the soil of the evergreen forest region has high absorbent qualities. If dug up, there is a danger of frequent landslides. The Western Ghat region is also the birthplace of most of the rivers in the south. Road construction in this sensitive region would have drastic impact on the environment. Already, oil companies have caused a lot of harm by digging up the land to lay pipelines.
Instead of constructing a new road, the Central government should develop the existing connecting roads of the coastal region by making them more vehicle-friendly. The unscientific road work should be dropped, the environment activists said.
Bhadra Wildlife Preservation Trust managing trustee D V Girish, Sridev Hulikere of Wild Cat - C, wildlife preservation activist G Veeresh, Wildlife Board former member S Girijashankar have urged the Central government to take steps in this regard.