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Monday, Mar 03, 2008
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Tamil Nadu
— Coimbatore: “I want children to get not curriculum knowledge but a committed knowledge regarding eco-conservation. Such committed people have joined hands under the aegis of ‘Osai’ to spread this awareness in all the educational institutions apart from fighting whatever causes eco-disturbance”, says K. Kalidasan, president of the Osai. “We have already sensitised 1.5 lakh students - at least three educational institutions a week-as we believe it is the generation-next which should realise the importance of forests”. He is immensely happy that the youngsters are responding positively, many with abundant enthusiasm, to the cause of preserving nature. Despite landing a bank job on completion of his graduation from the Government Arts College, Coimbatore, he chose to quit the job as soon as he got an employed spouse saying one job a family would do. Forty-year-old Kalidasan, in his interaction with G. Satyamurty, explains how rich the Nilgiris biosphere is (the first in the country) and how it could be preserved for posterity. “I started as a lover of literature and slowly gravitated towards organisations like the Amnesty International. Instead of writing poetry on Nature, it dawned upon me that I should do something to conserve it. Originally ‘Osai’ - meaning voice, sound, and noise-had only around 15 to 20 members. Now we have around 200 committed members and more than 500 supporters interested in preserving Nature’s bounty”. “India has an extraordinary ecological background with rich forests and Western Ghats should be saved to give water and food to Coimbatore region.” Forests should be looked at as “our property” not that of the Government’s as Forest Department has poor wherewithal, especially manpower, to take care of them. He is certain that illegal tree felling and poaching had declined. “But the pressure on wildlife has gone up, thanks to developmental projects”. He asserts it is the Indian Forest Act 1980 that has been protecting the forests. But allowing developmental activities inside the “core zone” of the forests has become the real menace. For instance, he opposes Sathyamangalam-Chamrajnagar railway line proposal because 26 km of the line would be in the core zone. “We are not against development; but please do not disturb the wildlife paradise”. After wildlife census for three years in Tamil Nadu, it has been found that Sathyamangalam forests alone have striped hyena which indicate rich forests. While the vulture population is on the decline in the country, Sathyamangalam forests have substantial number of them. While tiger population is fast declining in India, it is on the rise in Mudhumalai-Anamalai region. Mr. Kalidasan says there are around 15 tigers and 850 elephants in Sathyamangalam forests. “ Why should you disturb them by laying a railway line which will bifurcate the wildlife zone? As Bhavani is the only perennial river in the State, apart from Thamrabarani, intensive cultivation goes on in this region. When elephants are disturbed, they tend to move over to farm lands. Instead, a line connecting Mettupalayam-Sathyamangalam -Erode could be laid which will be extremely beneficial to passengers bound for Chennai and also Bangalore”. Similarly, Gudaulur-Sathyamangalam road would affect the migratory route of elephants from Bandipur, Nagerhole, Mudumalai and Thalaimalai as that would pass through Thengumarahada, the focal point. “This portion of the forests is equivalent to the African Savannah”. He is worried over construction of resorts in the name of ‘eco-tourism’ and also educational institutions on the fringes of the Nilgiris Biosphere consisting of Coimbatore, Sathyamgnalam and the Nilgiris. “These constructions would hit wildlife activities and disturb the elephant corridor thus making the animals restless”. Studies funded by the Forest Department were undertaken in 2003 and 2004 and with the help of WildLife Trust of India in 2007. They found that “any action taken without understanding this disturbance will not be effective”. He is happy that Tamil Nadu Government is the first in the country to have allotted funds to buy private land for the elephant corridor. “But this should be done immediately”. He points out that Malabar pied hornbill, an endangered species, earlier said to be only in the Silent Valley, is now available even in Mulli region of Coimbatore forest division. “We sighted nine pairs on a single day”. BifurcationSathyamangalam, the biggest forest division in the State with 1,455 sq km area, suffers due to poor financial and staff support, he laments. Hence, he suggests its bifurcation. As this division is full of black bucks (antelopes), it could be declared a black buck sanctuary comprising Singara and Singur range of Nilgiris North forest division. Besides, this should be merged with the Mudumalai sanctuary so that it could become a part of the Kerala’s Muthanga, Karnataka’s Nagerhole and Bandipur and Tamil Nadu’s Mudumalai. “This would be India’s wildlife achievement as no other region in India will have such a contiguous forest link”.
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