By K.K.Aiyamma
The 3 Member State Govt appointed committee has given the go-ahead to th 400 KV power line to pass through Coorg, and the route will be same.
Interestingly, J Santosh, the reporter at TNIE had tweeted some interested information regarding the power line. The tweets are self-explanatory.
To deal with the environmental issues arising from the Power Line, the committee has recommended the following:
1. Regeneration of Vegetation along the 3.93 km stretch in Dubare and Devamachi Forests.
2. Working out a plan to mitigate elephant-human conflicts in coffee plantations, paddy fields and settlements of the district during
the cutting of trees and construction of tower lines.
Firstly, the current Man-Elephant Conflict has not been addressed fully by the Forest Department. Trying to address this issue during the construction of power line or after the power line comes up, will be like adding fuel to fire.
The committee has acknowledged that there will be Man-Elephant Conflict – due to the “cutting of trees and construction of tower lines”
Then why in the hell to let it pass through the same Route ???????
Another important revelation is that the committee acknowledges that:
The line passes through 4.5 km of reserve forest in Virajpet, Madikeri and Hunsur forest divisions, which fall within the buffer zone of the tiger reserve.
Wow. Now talk about Saving the Tigers.
The 3 Members who stand to loose if this line passes through the current route is The Elephant, Tiger and People of Coorg. The winner is Kerala and all vested interests.
