Even as the Haritha Keralam Mission targets planting of three crore saplings to augment the green cover of the State, mangrove trees along Asramam Link Road, bordering the Asramam creek of the Ashtamudi Lake, were felled over the past two days allegedly to provide a better view of the creek for the President’s Trophy boat race to be held there on November 1.
Environmentalists said that many of the mangroves felled were more than 20-ft tall and were planted as part of a mangrove afforestation project in 2005. The mangroves on Link Road are an extension of the mangrove forests within the Adventure Park complex. Formal effort is afoot on the side of the Kerala State Biodiversity Board to declare the whole area a heritage site.
The planting of mangroves along Link Road was carried out as part of a government programme and organisations such as the Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad and the Purogamana Kala Sahithya Sangam were actively involved in it. The idea was to develop the road as a mangrove avenue.
18 species
Environmentalists said that about 18 species of mangroves were planted along the road and that the road was actually a portion of the lake reclaimed. V.K. Madhusoodanan, environment activist, said the destruction was taking place as part of the preparations for the boat race.
While a few trees used to be pruned previously, the sad part this time was that trees in over half-an-acre had been felled and it appeared doubtful whether they would grow back. Even if they did, they could face the same fate next year, he added.