Local residents and environmentalists from the Nilgiris staged a protest at the Ooty Lake and Boat House on Wednesday, November 8, 2023, demanding a halt to the illegal construction of a zipline and rope bridge by the T.N. Tourism Department, and also a halt to the alleged destruction of the wetland surrounding the Udhagamandalam Railway Station.
The protestors held placards near the construction site at the Ooty Lake and held talks with officials and the contractor who was undertaking the construction, outlining the rules being flouted by the government.
Present at the protest were members of ‘Namma Nilgiris’, a citizens collective pushing for sustainable development in the Nilgiris, the founder of the Make Ooty Beautiful (MOB) Project, Shobana Chandrashekar, conservationists such as N. Mohanraj, and president of the Ooty Public Awareness Association, G. Janardhanan. Also present was retired IAS officer, Surjit K. Chaudhary, who is the chairperson of The Confederation of Environment Associations of the Nilgiris (CEAN).
Mr. Choudhary said that officials of the government, which had the duty to protect wetlands and implement the laws, were themselves breaking laws by allowing such constructions. He said that the zipline and rope bridge constructions were in violation of the Wetland Rules, 2017, while the construction of a viewing deck overlooking the Ketti Valley was in violation of the Hill Station Building Rules, 1993. He urged the district administration to file an FIR against officials from the Tourism Department, and the Salem Division of Southern Railways for violating the Environmental Protection Act.
“Despite a letter by the Tamil Nadu State Wetland Authority (TNWSA) [last week], highlighting the degradation of the wetland adjoining the railway station, as well as the constructions being undertaken by the Tourism Department, work is still ongoing,” said Mr. Chaudhary. The TNWSA had asked the Nilgiris Collector and District Forest Officer to file an action-taken report within 15 days.
Mr. Chaudhary said that the vertical cutting of slopes to expand the highways into the Nilgiris was also being undertaken without any Environmental Impact Assessments, which, he said, would lead to more landslips in the future.
