Locals hold stir, urge govt to exempt Gudalur from ESZ

Moreover, the residents aren’t able to construct further buildings and for every approval we have been forced to approach Chief Wildlife warden if their village is put under ESZ.

Published: 28th August 2022 05:55 AM  |   Last Updated: 28th August 2022 05:55 AM   |  A+A A-

By Express News Service

COIMBATORE: Residents of Sreemadurai village staged a hunger strike at Gudalur in the Nilgiris district on Saturday, demanding the State government to exempt 85 vilages in Gudalur from being included under Eco Sensitive Zone (ESZ), as  villages located adjacent to the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) would be affected by it.

Gudalur MLA Pon Jayaseelan from AIADMK, took part in the protest and said that the project would affect close to 25,000 of people in 85 villages, including tribal and Sri Lankan refugees, who have been living in the surroundings of Gudalur for a long time.

“We urge that chief wildlife warden Srinivas R Reddy must write to the Centre, urging them to exempt Gudalur from ESZ, as livelihood of thousands of people would be affected, before September 4, which is the last day for appeal in Supreme Court. People conveyed their anguish over the announcement by hosting black flags in their houses. AIADMK is also staging a protest on Tuesday condemning the DMK government for taking enormous delay in appeal in the SC,” he said.  

Sreemadurai Panchayat President KR Sunil told TNIE that some of the farmers fear that the forest department may restrict them in cultivating crops. Moreover, the residents aren’t able to construct further buildings and for every approval we have been forced to approach Chief Wildlife warden if their village is put under ESZ.

However, chief wildlife warden Reddy told TNIE that the people can continue to do farming and they needn’t fear the ESZ, since it would only ban mining and chemical industries causing pollution within 1 km from forest land. “As far as the Nilgiris is concerned, there are no mining activities and polluting industries and hence there will not be any restrictions,” he added.
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