Idukki: The CPM district committee has decided to protest against the move of five-member expert panel set up by the Kerala High Court to ban off-road jeep safari to Kolukkumalai from Suryanelli in the Chinnakanal panchayat.
The panel cited environmental issues and the hindrance these are causing to the movement of wildlife in the area.
Based on the report of the committee set up to study human-wildlife conflict in view of the efforts to translocate Arikomban, boating at Aanayirangal dam run by KSEB as part of the hydel tourism project was suspended recently.
“If there is a court order to ban the Kolukkumalai safari, there will be widespread protests in Suryanelli. It is a matter of bread and butter for 143 jeep drivers who have purchased the vehicles by availing of loans. Besides, the safari has become the backbone of the economy in the region,” CPM district secretary C V Varghese said.
He said his party would lead public protest in the region if the safari was banned. “We also need to put an end to environmentalists residing elsewhere interfering matters here,” Varghese added.
Chinnakanal grama panchayat president Sini Baby said the counsel for Santhanpara and her civic body would take an appropriate stand on the matter in the High Court and an all-party forum has already been formed in Chinnakanal to discuss issues related to the proposal.
Kolukkumalai situated 8,000 ft above sea level is a much loved tourist spot and boasts the highest organic tea estate in the world. The tourists often embark on a one-day off-road 7-km trip to the hilltop; some stay back at night in tent camps to watch the sunrise the next day.
The expert committee flagged the tourist tent camps too citing they were unauthorised and the district collector has already ordered their removal.
According to a source in the Devikulam forest range, the proposal to call off the safari was a decision taken by the expert committee; the forest department had no role in it.
“As part of a project, there was a proposal from the forest department to vacate 301 Colony in Chinnakanal for the smooth movement of wild jumbos. As the wild elephants often swim across the Aanayirangal dam reservoir to reach Chinnakanal, the boating may disturb the jumbos,” a source said.
Reportedly as many as 365 hectares of forest on lease to Hindustan Newsprint Limited near the 301 Colony in Chinnakanal and several other forested areas in Idukki with eucalyptus and pine trees have been attached by the forest department. A proposal has been sent to the state government to issue an order declaring these lands as reserved forests.
