Even as the Haritha Keralam Mission targets planting of three crore saplings to augment the green cover of the State, mangrove trees along Asramam Link Road, bordering the Asramam creek of Ashtamudi Lake, have been felled over the past two days, allegedly to provide a better view of the creek for the President’s Trophy boat race to be held there on November 1.
Environmentalists said that many of the mangroves felled were more than 20 ft tall and were planted as part of a mangrove afforestation project in 2005. The mangroves on Link Road are an extension of the mangrove forests within the Adventure Park complex. Formal efforts are afoot on the side of the Kerala State Biodiversity Board to declare the whole area a heritage site.
The planting of mangroves along Link Road was carried out as part of a government programme and organisations such as the Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad and the Purogamana Kala Sahithya Sanghom were actively involved in it. The idea was to develop the road as a mangrove avenue.
V.K. Madhusoodanan, environment activist, said the destruction was taking place as part of the preparations for the boat race. Trees in over half an acre had been felled and it appeared doubtful whether they would grow back, he added.
