Campaigns bring spotlight on Ghats conservation

Say development priorities have destroyed almost 80% of the Ghats

A bird’s eye view of the Western Ghats.

The campaign for the conservation of the Western Ghats has assumed fresh impetus with at least two civil society organisations taking out rallies to champion the cause.

While the Western Ghats issue was one of the thrust areas in the zonal jathas organised by the Kerala Sasthra Sahitya Parishad recently, the Joint Action Council for the Protection of the Western Ghats is using its current campaign on food security, water security and sustainable use of natural resources to focus public attention on the issue.

A press note issued by the action council said the skewed development priorities of the State had destroyed almost 80% of the Western Ghats, impacting on the climate, rainfall pattern, river hydrology and marine life.

Highlighting the failure of successive governments and the political leadership to address environmental issues, it called for a reorientation of the political agenda.

Noting that illegal quarries and construction activities had devastated large sections of the ghats, the action council said it had impacted on the midlands and coastal areas also. The move to construct new airports and seaports, toll roads, water sports facilities and special economic zones was posing a threat to human rights and livelihoods, the action council said.

The campaign which originated from Kasaragod on August 16 is scheduled to culminate at Vizhinjam here on October 16.