To mark the World Heritage Day on April 18 and to focus on the theme of this year “Heritage for Generations”, students of the Tribal Residential School at Top Slip in Ulandy Range of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) were taken on a nature trail through the Karian Shola National Park.
Students were given a feel of the rich flora and fauna and the nature at its pristine glory in an undisturbed patch of forest.
Chief Conservator of Forest and Field Director of ATR, V. Ganesan said that globally there are about 1,073 World Heritage Sites, of which 832 fall under the cultural category, 206 are natural and 35 are a mixture of both. Nearly 55 sites are under constant threat. India with 39 sites stands sixth globally. Tamil Nadu has two sites- namely the group of monuments of Mahabalipuram and part of Western Ghats cluster of which Tamil Nadu has four sub-clusters namely Agasthiyamalai, Anamalai, the Nilgiris, and Periyar.
In Anamalais, there are two heritage sites namely Kariyan Shola National Park, a lower wet evergreen forest known for its rich fauna and floral diversity and Grass Hills National Park, encompassing pristine evergreen shola and grassland. Grass Hills National Park is the source of origin of rivers such as Aliyar, Solayar, Kadamparai and Neerar.
