News Karnataka
Friday, March 29 2024
Cricket
Mangaluru

Western Ghats to lose 30,000 trees to make way for Byrapura-Shishila road project?

Photo Credit :

Mangaluru: The government has decided to lay a 65 km road connecting Byrapura in Chikkamagaluru and Shishila in Dakshina Kannada district. However, this road will soon be laid axing over 30,000 trees in the pristine Western Ghats. What is surprising is the fact that the government has breathed life into a project which was stalled by the locals in 2010.

The Yettinahole Project – Watering or Dewatering the future?-12As per locals, the stretch was used mainly for local transports (using bullock carts) since ages. This stretch gave a connectivity between Coastal belt and the Malnad. However, in 2010, the government came forward to surface the road and even cleared trees on three to four kms stretch. But, irked by the same, the locals protested and stopped the execution of the project.

Now, after six years, the government is ready to execute the same project citing that the development of the project will reduce the travel distance between Dharmasthala and Kukke Subramanya by 15 km and Mudigere and Ujire by 29 km.

As per sources, the government decided to develop this route as an alternative to the existing highways via Shiradi and Charmadi. Public Works Department Minister H C Mahadevappa has said that the project has taken off and that at present the survey work for this two-lane road project estimated to cost Rs 56 cr is going on.

The government has already entrusted Bengaluru-based Preethi CAD Consulting Engineers with the responsibility of preparing the detailed project report (DPR). The firm is in the process of conducting a survey in the area, and work is under progress and only after obtaining the DPR will we know the periodicity of the project.”

But, conservationists and environmentalists are skeptical about the project. They say that 24 kms of road will pass through dense forests in Western Ghats and conveniently, close to 50,000 trees will have to be cut to make way for this project.

Share this:
MANY DROPS MAKE AN OCEAN
Support NewsKarnataka's quality independent journalism with a small contribution.

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating 0 / 5. Vote count: 0

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

To get the latest news on WhatsApp