With the Green Tribunal, Chennai Bench, giving an interim order in favour of opening a parking ground at the entrance of Thekkady at Anavachal, the Forest Department on Wednesday started plying its own vehicles on the four-kilometre stretch to and from the boat landing station. This is on the lines of entry into the Eravikulam National Park, the natural habitat of Nigiri tahr in Munnar. Tourist vehicles, till now parked near the landing station, will be permitted only till Anavachal.
The order was given by the Green Bench on the contention of the Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) that frequent movement of tourist vehicles on the stretch created disturbances to wild animals as they were moving in large numbers on the buffer zone seeking water from Thekkady Lake. Till now, tourist vehicles were parked near the boat landing station.
TN’s appeal
An area in Anavachal, 4 km from Thekkady, was earlier marked for construction of a parking ground. Tamil Nadu moved a petition that the parking ground would submerge when the Mullaperiyar water level reaches 142 ft, the maximum limit set by the Supreme Court.
It also argued that the land in Anavachal belonged to Tamil Nadu as per the lease agreement and the construction was illegal. Traders at the zone and environmental activists too opposed the move. The construction of the parking ground was stopped after the intervention of the Green Tribunal
The PTR has for long sought to shift the park area from inside the tourism zone to outside. During peak season, the parking area near the boat landing station used to be full, resulting in traffic jams and pollution.
Food waste too posed threat to wild animals. “Now seven buses of the Forest Department take tourists from Anavachal to the boat landing station. A vehicle will be ready for the return journey for the tourists,” said an official of the Forest Department.
The boating services in Thekkady Lake is being conducted by the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation and the Forest Department.
The incoming vehicles could also be arranged in accordance with the timing of the boat services, reducing rush at the boat landing station, he added.
Solar vehicles
Kishan Kumar, Deputy Director, PTR, said the Forest Department had placed orders for solar powered vehicles in the forest area. They would be used for ferrying people and collecting garbage. As per the interim order, no construction should be made on the parking ground. The PTR made a bamboo fencing and cleared the ground for the entry of the tourist vehicles, Mr. Kumar said.
Meanwhile the water level in the Thekkady lake reached 109 ft. on Wednesday. The dead storage level is 108 ft. The authorities were planning to suspend the boating services if the water level drops further as the tree stumps in the lake posed a threat to the boating.
