Scores of green collectives and environmental organisations will join hands on Wednesday for a protest at numerous places in the State against the planned felling of over 1,800 large trees in Vazhachal forests near Athirappilly for a proposed small hydro-electric project by the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) at Anakkayam.
In the light of the KSEB sanction for cutting 1,897 big trees in the area for the project, which envisages generation of 7.5 MW power using tailwater from the Sholayar hydel project, greens led by the Chalakkudy River Protection Forum have voiced their protest, saying the project not only violated the rights of the communities dependent on this forest patch for livelihood but would also accelerate the descend of the KSEB into financial dire straits.
According to the River Protection Forum, the project, which it says is not economically viable, was granted the go-ahead without obtaining permission from the tribal communities which enjoy inviolable community forest rights in the area. “The plan is to fell about 2,000 large trees and also create a 5.617-km-long tunnel within the forest for the project. But this area is ecologically fragile, as we saw in 2018 when a massive landslide followed by minor landslips occurred in the proposed project site,” the Chalakkudy River Protection Forum said in a communication.
