The rail distance from Kannur and Kozhikode to Bengaluru will be reduced by half approximately and that from Kochi will be shortened by 72 km if this alternative rail route proposal becomes a reality. More important, however, is that this is not cutting across any of the Protected Areas (PA).
The proposed alternative route envisages merger of two earlier proposals: the Thalassery-Mysuru and Nilambur-Nanjangund lines. It excludes all the PAs of the Western Ghats such as the Bramhagiri Wildlife Sanctuary, Nagerhole National Park, and the Bandipur Tiger Reserve of Karnataka and the Kottiyoor, Aralam, and Wayanad wildlife sanctuaries of Kerala. Only reserve forests to a stretch of 13 km in four locations fall across the line.
“The total extent of forestland to be cleared as per the Forest Conservation Act will be less than 8 hectares only,” said retired Deputy Conservator of Forests O. Jayarajan, who identified the alternative route for the Mysuru-Malabar Rail Road Action Council (MMRRC). He visited the entire stretch up to Mysuru to mark the routes. As per a notification issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, railway projects and underground pipelines are included in the category of prohibited works in the Bandipur Tiger Reserve, through which place this proposed rail has to pass towards Nanjangund.
Starting point
The Thalassery-Mysuru rail line proposal was routed through the Bramhagiri sanctuary. Environment Clearance for the proposal is difficult to secure. The alternative route envisages the Azhikkal port as the starting point to Mysuru via the Kannur airport, Mananthavady in Wayanad, and the Kodagu region of Karnataka through the Kutta, Thithimathi, Katte Malavady and Krishnarajanagar station. As the Nilambur-Nanjangund proposal will face legal obstacles owing to forest guidelines, the alternative route also proposes a Shoranur-Kozhikod-Koyilandy-Mananthavady-Mysuru route, instead of the proposed Kochi-Bengaluru route through Shoranur-Nilambur.
“The project cost also can be drastically reduced with the alternative proposal,” said Blessy Thomas, MMRRAC inter-State coordinator, based in Wayanad. This will accelerate development of Manathavady, a developmentally backward area, he said.
“The people of the region north of Kochi will be gaining a lot if this project is implemented,” said Umesh Pochappan, the council’s State coordinator. Goods transport from the ports of Mangaluru, Kannur and Kochi to Bengaluru will make the project economically viable as also will increase traffic through the shortest distance from various destinations, he pointed out.
An MMRRAC delegation will submit the proposal to the Railway Minister in New Delhi on February 8.
