Dinesh Holla sees lobby against Kasturirangan Report

Environmentalist Dinesh Holla said the implementation of Madhav Gadgil and Kasturirangan Reports is the need-of-the hour to save the environment of the region.

The environmentalist was speaking at an interaction programme organised at Patrika Bhavan.

Holla expressed worry that such moves were strongly opposed. “There is a strong lobby preventing the implementation of the reports to conserve the Western Ghats. The Ghats are closely knit and any damage to one part of the ranges will make other parts vulnerable too. Damage to the mountain ranges will also lead to landslides and other massive destruction,” he pointed out.

“Many projects have been introduced in the Western Ghats without studying the ‘carrying capacity’. This has resulted in natural disasters, which should instead be termed man-made disasters. The increasing interference of humans in Western Ghats is making the sensitive area further prone to disasters,” Holla reminded.

“In addition, the biodiversity in the Western Ghats is prone to danger and the rivers which have their origin in the Western Ghats are experiencing the heat. The water level in these rivers is depleting,” he said.

Holla said that Dakshina Kannada will witness drought much earlier than anticipated. “The district is experiencing severe drought after the introduction of Yettinahole Project. Politicians, however, are not accepting the fact. The project also has led to massive landslides in Sakleshpur, Charmadi and Madikere. There is a need for scientific study over the problem,”
he stressed.

Holla lashed out at the indifferent attitude of politicians and said that the elected representatives and bureaucrats were the least bothered to study the phenomenon behind the landslides. The public have been kept in the dark about the reasons behind the successive natural disasters, he said.