By K K Aiyamma
Minister of State for Railways K.H. Muniyappa recently announced that the new survey has been completed and an alternative route(Nilambur-Wayanad) has been choosen. But the “Action Council” seems to be hell bent on having it pass through Coorg.
Kalavoor Johnson, general convener of the council was quoted in The Hindu stating:
“The Thalassery-Mysore railway line will never be a reality if it passes through Wayanad or Nilambur as the route entails laying of a railway track through long stretches of forest, which is unlikely to be approved by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF),” .
Interesting to note is that Mr.Jhonson seems to be quite oblivious to the fact that if the railway line passes through Coorg, it will not only damage the forests but the livelihood of the people of Coorg, the coffee plantations.
The proponents from across the border are currently lobbying in delhi with their claim that “the small stretch of forest along the route through Kodagu can be left undisturbed by the construction of tunnels”.
A railway line from Thalassery to Mysore passing through coorg will benefit the farmers as well as the large plantations. The farm produce (like coffee, spices,flowers,herbs etc) can be transported by rail and exported through the new International airport coming up at Kannur as well as through the Azhikal port. I do not think there is much forest cover in this route (can be verified using google maps) when compared to the proposed Nanjangud-Nilambur railway line which has to pass through wildlife sanctuaries like Bandipur for which getting environmental clearance is nearly impossible. I do not think that a railway… Read more »
coorg route also has difficult forest cover and requires new line from krishnarajanagara. to kasargod which requires ~200km new line. Nilambur route requires only 137 km new line from Nanajangud to nilambur. It can catter to both routes from south and north side of kerala. Please think raationally