Indiscriminate quarrying in areas under the Western Ghats poses a grave threat to the biodiversity of the ecologically sensitive region. The grim scenario unfolding in the Vellarada grama panchayat of the Neyyattinkara taluk, which witnesses large-scale quarrying, is a case in point.
The hill ranges of Koonichy-Kondaketty, Kalappakonam-Manali-Vattappara and Meethi-Sasthampara-Neerattupara, which pass through the panchayat, form part of the tail-end of the Western Ghats. Over the past five years, the picturesque region has been witnessing a gradual erosion.
The razing of hills has caused serious repercussions on human life as well as flora and fauna. The activity threatens to alter the structural and geological peculiarities of the region.
The biodiversity register prepared by the Vellarada grama panchayat, in association with the Kerala State Biodiversity Board, has recorded the presence of over 700 plant species in the panchayat.
Local people opposing the unchecked quarrying fear that the activity could lead to the extinction of the several endemic species. Ecologists validate the concern by pointing out that such operations could result in widespread environmental disruption on the biodiversity-rich Western Ghats. “Besides the obvious aspect of terrain deformation, quarrying poses several other threats that cannot be discounted,” says environmentalist Satish Chandran, a regular visitor to the region.
Dr. Chandran says that the release of silica dust and radon gas, among others, during quarrying and transportation of the quarried materials poses health risks for local inhabitants. In addition, such operations may cause fungal rot and other diseases in plants. While large-scale quarrying on the Western Ghats could also result in climate change, the extent of the problem has to be scientifically studied to understand the gravity of the situation, he says.
He is of the view that a Statewide policy is required to evolve measures to mitigate the problems caused by quarries. Steps are also required to concentrate quarries within certain pockets so that the damage is contained.
Former Kerala State Biodiversity Board chairman V.S. Vijayan, who was a member of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, says that biodiversity and other ecological factors are seldom considered while planning developmental activities. “The so-called development is taking place in the State at the expense of the environment. We need to ascertain who benefits from such progress,” he says.
