On Friday, the 10th of June, 2011, a meeting was held at the Mysore Kodava Samaja Hall, Vijayanagar, to discuss about the sensitive environmental areas in Kodagu, a district nestled in the Western Ghat mountain range.
The resource persons present at the meeting included two members of the Western Ghat Central Expert Committee constituted by the Ministry of Environment, New Delhi, namely Dr. K. N. Ganeshayya and Mrs. Vidya Nayak; Dr. R. Vasudeva, member, Western Ghat Task Force; Dr. C. G. Kushalappa of Forestry College, Ponnampet, Dr. K. A. Kushalappa, Chairman, Kodagu Model Forest Trust, Ponnampet and Mr. Vinay Kumar, DFO, Mandya and Mysore.
The importance of protecting and preserving the Western Ghat range of rain forest is, among others, that some of the life - sustaining rivers namely Cauvery, Krishna, Godavari, Thamraparni, Kali, Nethravathi and many other tributaries take birth from this mountain range. Cauvery takes its birth at Talacauvery in North Kodagu at Brahmagiri Hills. Hence the special importance to Kodagu.
According to the handout given to me at the meeting, the sensitive environmental area means an area where environment — with vegetation, trees, rivers, water bodies, streams, varieties of flora and fauna — has been untouched and has remained virgin for centuries and if spoiled, cannot be retrieved or restored to its original condition. Good. Now the task is how to protect what has remained virgin and to save those areas already violated from further damage and destruction.
The ever dynamic Kodava Samaja President K. A. Kariappa was determined, apparently, to get me to this meeting and speak on vital issues concerning the subject. In deference to his wishes, I went there abandoning my office, nearly an hour late. The session was on with many highly - charged speakers enthused to grab the opportunity to speak in defence of Kodagu, the land of Kodavas and tribals before Lingayat kings came to rule.
As could be expected, where issues are discussed extempore, unlike in a seminar where papers are read, I saw some speakers go flying at a tangent. For example: It is enough to say forests are destroyed to construct multi - crore Holiday Resorts to make a point. But no. The speaker would go on making malicious remarks about girls being brought from outside the district to dance and perform; only Kodava culture should be projected etc. This is irrelevant. Point is, no Holiday Resort should be allowed in environment sensitive areas.
There was much brouhaha about Devarakad [sacred grove] being abused and found shrinking in size because of the encroachers. Who are responsible for these vandalism on our Devarakads or on environment? Greedy people of Kodagu or the government? I hold the government responsible. Corrupt politicians and the officials. I know Kodagu people, the original inhabitants, are basically ancestral and nature - worshippers. People with such environment - friendly belief will do nothing to harm the nature. It is the latter day buccaneers — the timber merchants, the commercial - minded people, the development-minded government and its corrupt officials who give permission for these projects.
Call me immodest, but I must write here what I, as the President of Kodagu Moolanivasigala Hitharakshana Samithi (ad hoc), with the Editor of Brahmagiri Kodava language weekly and a few other idealist youngsters, did for three years to “Save Kodagu” from the encroachers from neighbouring States with the help of the then Gundu Rao government and also from the timber merchants, apart from attending to other problems from the corrupt officials of the Revenue, Forest and other departments. There was a move to draw high tension electricity wire across the Nagarahole Game Sanctuary and also talk about conducting survey for laying a railway line. Holiday Resorts and Home Stays were never heard of about 30 years ago.
However, times have changed. Luckily, our government being always bankrupt and used to making promises without keeping them [like bringing back black money from foreign banks and curbing corruption!] never took steps about the high tension wire going across the Nagarahole Forests, nor about the Railways. A blessing in disguise. Let it be.
When my turn came to speak, I could only remember my old grouses and added one more; the latest craze of setting up Holiday Homes. I said Kodagu is just a patch along the Western Ghat mountain range covering an area of 60 miles in length and 30 miles in width. Therefore, the whole of this district should be considered environmentally sensitive. Now, whatever damage is done, cannot be undone. However, at the planes and valleys where people have been cultivating agricultural crops like coffee, cardamom or paddy for centuries, shall continue. But further destruction of nature must end here and now.
No overhead high - tension electrical wire should pass across any part of Kodagu. If necessary it must be done through underground cables only — no felling of trees or clearing the forest all along the length the line runs. The danger of frequent tripping and snapping of the line due to accidental fall of trees or branches due to heavy rains or high velocity winds and the consequent danger of electrocution of wild animals and even humans can thus be avoided.
Secondly, I said no railway service for Kodagu. Even if it is upto Kushalnagar. It is going to be an environmental disaster. Much of green forest land will go; sound, smoke and garbage pollution will be there 24 x 7. It will also cause demographic and social imbalance, leading in time to law and order problem.
And then, Kodagu having now become a tourist destination, is it not more pleasurable for tourists and the locals to drive on the roads enjoying the scenery of rolling mountains, green forests and glades, cascading waterfalls on the road side, peaks and valleys, blue skies, overhanging clouds and monsoon rains? What about paddy fields and coffee estates with manicured green hedges? And then the scent of pepper and the nostril - tickling fragrance of coffee blossom during the season following blossom showers? One must see acres and acres of perfumed coffee estates in bloom, white as snow in a vast spread with honeybees, birds chirping in utter joy and insects savouring its ambrosia — indeed once in a life - time sight [if you don't repeat the visit] and a sight presented by nature for Gods to see, made available to humans by Kodagu planters!
Now, let me come to the new scourge that's haunting Kodagu. The scourge of Holiday Resorts. They are coming up in all directions of Kodagu — amidst coffee estates, in the valley, on the hills and even on the paddy fields. Area could be from 1 acre to 100 acres. They come in 5 - Star format or as jungle lodges. But the damage to the environment is perceptible in the form of new road-making where trees are cut, garbage generation, vehicular movement with corresponding toxic gas emission, to list a few. I am talking about the collateral damage to the environment. I am afraid, Kodagu at present has enough number of Holiday Homes nestled inside the green cover. No more please. The government should put a cap on any new Holiday Resorts with a sense of responsibility to save the sensitive environmental areas in Kodagu. Let hotels come up in towns, but not impregnate the Mother Nature and enter its womb to poison the delicate, beautiful body of my Kodagu.
I told the meeting that if these three projects are undertaken in Kodagu — overhead high tension electrical wire, Railway line and Holiday Resorts — it would be like keeping three elephants in a 60'x30' size room. Too crowded for the comfort of the locals and too bad for the safety of the sensitive environment of Kodagu.
My appeal to the members of the Western Ghat Central Expert Committee and the Western Ghat Task Force of Karnataka Government is to include in their report to the Union Government the three concerns I have detailed above and see that all the three predatory projects be banned for ever, if Kodagu is to be saved for the Western Ghat, for all of us and our children.
However, the key to safeguard the nature's treasure is in the hands of the government.
