The Kerala government’s plan for an “eco-friendly dynamic lighting project” at the Athirappilly waterfall in Thrissur district has met with resistance from environmentalists and wildlife experts.
At 81.5 feet, Athirappilly is the largest waterfall in Kerala and is often referred to as the “Niagara of South India”.
In his maiden budget speech last Friday, chief minister V.D. Satheesan announced the ₹5-crore project that plans to illuminate the waterfall at night.
The waterfall is nestled within a dense forest with a rich ecosystem. The riparian forest in the Athirappilly-Vazhachal area is a natural habitat for elephants, leopards, Bengal tigers, gaurs, sambar deer and lion-tailed macaque. It is the only place where all four South Indian species of hornbills are found.
Experts fear the proposed project would lead to light pollution.
According to a 2010 study by the Kerala Forest Research Institute, the Vazhachal forest in Athirappilly is home to 231 bird species, of which 121 are rare and 24 are endemic to the Western Ghats. Besides, the area just above the Vazhachal waterfall is a natural elephant corridor.
However, forest minister Shibu Baby John and his department officials said they were not aware of the “dynamic lighting project”. The Telegraph spoke to a cross-section of top officials at the state forest department headquarters and also at Athirappilly, but all of them feigned ignorance.
“We are not aware of this lighting project at Athirappilly. Not all projects announced in the budget need to be implemented. The Athirappilly project will run into protests from environmentalists and wildlife experts,” a forest department official said on the condition of anonymity.
Environmentalists said the proposal to develop Athirappilly as an integrated tourism project would harm its rich wildlife.
A.O. Sunny, a retired forest department official in the rank of wildlife warden, said around 14 lakh tourists visit Athirappilly each year, which is more than the region’s ecological capacity.
“Currently, a long queue of vehicles can be seen, especially during the weekend, trying to enter Athirappilly road. Man-animal conflicts in the Athirappilly-Vazhachal region have become a bane for the authorities. They are already struggling to resolve the crisis there. The state government must have included the dynamic lighting project to generate more income by tapping Athirappilly’s tourism potential. But under no circumstances should the government go ahead with the project as the wildlife will be drastically affected,” Sunny, who hails from Thrissur district, said.
Tourists are allowed at Athirappilly from 6am to 6pm. After that, long herds of elephants tread through the corridor.