Farmers and environmentalists have raised concerns against a horse race training centre and stud farm at Chekadi. The centre has come up on 20 acres of land.

According to the farmers, wastewater from the stud farm contaminates water sources from the forests, which flow towards the paddy fields. It is also cited that digging canals for the purpose of the farm cuts off water supply to paddy fields.

The traditional farmers of Chekadi, a tribal hamlet bordering the state with Karnataka had won the state agricultural award for the year 2023-2024 for the best ethnic hamlet that follows organic farming practices in the state.

According to the data of the agriculture department, the village cultivates Gandhakasala rice on 30 acres of paddy field, whereas 215 traditional farmers of 55 tribal families engage in farming in the village, which has more than 90 per cent tribal population.

Chekadi Padasekhara Samithi president Sivaprasad Vilangodi said that the water bodies that originate from a check-dam in the jungle are already polluted as they pass through the canal close to the stud farm before reaching the paddy lands. "We fear, in future, we would be forced to back out from farming as the land would be uncultivable due to the deep canals dug across the paddy land," he said.

"The animal waste from the farm would be drained out into the river Kabani, which caters drinking water downstream to more than 500 families. The deep canals dug up for the horse farm not only would affect the water flow to the fields but also would damage my house," lamented Poothampura Rugmini, a resident of the locality.

NRK businessman Ubaise Siddique is the owner of the stud farm. When contacted, his representative Shaijal said that though there are long term tourism plans, at the initial stage the centre would impart caring and training space for the race horses in South India. However he evaded questions regarding environmental pollution.

Pulppalli panchayat president TS Dileep Kumar said that they came to know about the project only through the media. ''Even to construct a temporary shed one has to seek permission from the panchayat. But this massive project on a 20-acre paddy farm was launched without our knowledge. I have already directed the Agriculture Officer to inspect the land and submit a report, based on which we would issue a stop memo," he said.

Meanwhile, the Wayanad Prakrithi Samrakshana Samithy (WPSS), an environmental organisation, is all set to stage a protest against the state government as well as the Pulppalli panchayat.

WPSS president N Badusha said that the traditional farmers of Chekadi village are a model for the entire country and the farming culture of the village should be protected at any cost. "We are all set to approach the district collector and agriculture minister demanding protection of the farmers from such projects," he said.