Activists oppose proposed Cheekkallur airstrip in Wayanad over environmental concerns
Environmentalists in Wayanad demand the immediate scrapping of the revived Cheekkalloor airstrip project, warning that destroying vital paddy fields and wetlands will shatter local water security, displace families, and trigger severe regional flooding.
Environmentalists in Wayanad demand the immediate scrapping of the revived Cheekkalloor airstrip project, warning that destroying vital paddy fields and wetlands will shatter local water security, displace families, and trigger severe regional flooding.
Environmentalists in Wayanad demand the immediate scrapping of the revived Cheekkalloor airstrip project, warning that destroying vital paddy fields and wetlands will shatter local water security, displace families, and trigger severe regional flooding.
Kalpetta: Environmentalists have opposed the proposed Cheekkalloor airstrip, warning that the project could affect more than a thousand families and shatter Wayanad’s fragile ecological balance.
The Wayanad Prakrithi Samrakshana Samithi has called for the immediate scrapping of the project, cautioning that it threatens to dry up critical water supplies to neighbouring Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Samithi alleged that the Chamber of Commerce, the Agriculture Minister, the land mafia and real estate groups were working to revive the project. They stated that the proposal, which was abandoned about a decade ago following public opposition, was being brought back despite concerns over its impact on wetlands and paddy fields.
More than half of the 500 acres earmarked for the mini-airport consists of lush paddy fields,the very bedrock of Wayanad’s water security. The project could also affect dairy farming, a major source of income for hundreds of local farmers. Construction would require filling the paddy fields with earth to raise the land by 6.5 metres.
The activists warned that this massive land reclamation would trigger acute water scarcity in other pockets. Furthermore, burying the stream that flows right through the middle of these paddy tracts would lead to severe flooding in surrounding areas. The Samithi also pointed out that choking the inflow into the Kabani River would have catastrophic and unpredictable repercussions downstream in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
The Samithi leaders argued that, if the airstrip project is necessary, authorities should identify a suitable alternative site from the 160,000 acres of government-owned land to minimise environmental damage and the impact on local communities.
The meeting was chaired by N Badusha. Thomas Ambalavayal, Babu Mailambadi, P M Suresh, Sunny Marakkadavu, C S Gopalakrishnan, M Gangadharan, Thachambath Ramakrishnan, and M V Manoj were among those who addressed the gathering.