The Gorumara-Jaldapara road, which is the proposed route of the corridor. Picture by Biplab Basak

Jalpaiguri, April 27: A volley of protests marked the opening day of the Central Surface Transport Department’s survey to chart the route of the East-West Corridor near Malbazar.

Five NGOs — Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation (HNAF) of Siliguri, Jalpaiguri Welfare Organisation, Science and Nature Club of Jalpaiguri, Rovers Mountaineers’ Club of Alipurduar and Nature and Adventure Study Group of Cooch Behar — joined hands to oppose the construction of the stretch of road that will prise open vast tracts of wilderness.

The corridor, which will connect the four corners of the country by road and is part of the ambitious golden Quadrangle project, has for long been a disputed issue.

Green crusaders of the region and forest department officials have opposed the plan saying the roads would destroy more than 2,000 hectares of woodland and pose a serious threat to the indigenous flora and the fauna that inhabit them.

The NGOs had held a meeting at the Jalpaiguri zilla parishad hall yesterday.

They planned to organise a programme to educate people about the darker side of development and the consequences of constructing a four-lane highway.

Pamphlets distributed by the organisations gave a detailed lowdown of the “price that ecology would have to pay for progress”.

“Bridges will be built on about 188 rivers and numerous culverts would also be built over the small streams. Such man-made barriers would restrict the free flow of water during monsoon and trigger large-scale floods, which in the long run, will have catastrophic consequences on the fertility of the soil that supports the forest system,” said Bimalendu Mazumdar, a member of Science and Nature Club.

Professor of chemistry in North Bengal University Joydeb Mondal said the construction would inflict irreparable damage on the eco-system.

“The depleting forest cover will spell doom for the animals in the wildlife sanctuaries that flank the proposed highway.”

The alignment of the corridor with the Golden Quadrilateral project will pass through the Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary, Baikunthapur Forest, Gorumara National Park, Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary and Buxa Tiger Reserve area before entering Assam.

Proposals including mass signature campaigns, putting forward an alternative route before the Central government and pressing for a review of the blueprint were discussed at the convention.

“If the four-lane highway is built, air and sound pollution and road hits will claim many animals of the parks,” said HNAF member Animesh Bose.