ATHIRAPPILLY WAS ANOTHER SILENT VALLY

ATHIRAPPILLY WAS ANOTHER

 SILENT VALLY

        Union minister of state for environment and Forest  Mr Jairam Ramesh on Saturday 17^th July,2010 made it clear that Athirappilly was another Silent vally, rich in biodiversity, which needed to be protected.

        The Kerala government proposeed Rs 675-crore 163-MW Athirappilly hydroelectric power project in Thrissur district.

        Jairam Remesh said that the Gadgil Committee is studying the biodiversity in the western ghats and will take up the Athirappilly project too.The study is being made with the help of researches from the Kerala Forest Research Institute and the Tropical Botanical Garden and Research Institute .(TBGRI). The Kerala State Electricity  Board(KSEB) had proposed a power project at Athirappilly water falls and the move had invited protests  from environmentalists.

        The hydel project is planned 35 km east of chalakudy town, across the chalakudy river,along the chalakudy-Anamalai inter state high way in the Vazhachal forest division of Thrissur district.

        The project got the first clearance from the Central government in 1998,which was challenged legally by environmentalists in 2005, after a fresh environment impact study, It was cleaared again. The Kerala High court intervened and asked the KSEB for a fresh clearance which it got for a third time in2007.

Prof. John Kurakar