Quarrying is being carried out in the Western Ghats region of the State, posing a serious threat to the fragile ecosystem of the region, the Western Ghats Protection Council and the Samoohya Pinnokka Munnani said here on Monday.
The Western Ghats has been ranked eighth among the 34 biodiversity hotspots of the world.
The State government recently issued permission for quarrying in some areas of the Ghats.
The unregulated quarrying carried out in the region would adversely affect the ecosystem and the climatic conditions of the State, John Peruvanthanam, convener of the council, said at press conference.
He said the government yielded to pressure from 6,000-odd owners of quarries and those of metal crushers in permitting quarrying in the region.
The political fronts in the State should come out with their stand on conservation issues, he said.
A.P. Ibrahim Kutty, chairman of the munnani, attended the press conference.
