The students of the Meenangadi Government Higher Secondary School once again gathered together on the top of of the Arattupara rock on Saturday to celebrate their victory over the granite lobby in Ambalavayal and Krishnagiri villages, where granite quarrying was rampant in the hill district.
As many as 300 students, including 100 alumni, under the aegis of the National Service Scheme (NSS) unit, environmental and tourism clubs of the school, celebrated the victory by sowing seeds of 10 different species of trees, flying kites and laying floral carpets on the rock .
“When we launched biodiversity conservation activities on Arattupara rock in 2014 close to 45 granite quarries as well as eight sand-making units were functioning in the region and the indiscriminate mining activities adversely affected the ecologically sensitive area,” M.K. Rajendran, NSS programme officer of the school, told The Hindu .
“During trekking of students to the rock we realised the need for launching a biodiversity restoration in the area to conserve the remaining rocks in the region,” he said .
Later they formed a human chain on Arattupara , one of the six such rock formations in the area, to sensitise the public on the significance of conserving the granite rock formations and demanding the district administration to conserve the remaining rocks in the region .
They also organised a seven-day NSS camp in the area and the volunteers constructed a road to the rock with the help of the villagers to promote tourism activities to the rock and bridle the activities of granite lobbies.
However, their activities got a desired result after the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), Wayanad , chaired by the District Collector, banned granite mining, quarrying, and stone-crushing in Ambalavayal and Krishnagiri villages a few weeks ago .
“We feel proud at the moment as we were able to set up a model in biodiversity conservation,” Suryan Jayan, a Plus Two student of the Meenangadi Governemnt HS school, said.
