KOCHI: While the government is considering revival of the Old Aluva - Munnar Road passing through the pristine evergreen forests of Pooyamkutty, a study report submitted by the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) in 2005 cautioning about the environmental sensitivity of the stretch is gaining significance.
The KFRI had conducted an environmental impact assessment study on opening the stretch in 2005 following a request from the National Transportation Planning and Research Centre (NATPAC), for the alignment of the hill highway. The study rejected the proposal to develop the road pointing out that it will fragment the nearly 400 sq km area of contiguous forest in Pooyamkutty valley.
The 1,251-km-long hill highway traverses through the state’s hill-ranges connecting 13 of the 14 districts. The highway begins from Nandarappadavu in Kasaragod district and extends up to Parassala in Thiruvananthapuram district.
“The Pooyamkutty forest is of high value in terms of diversity, contiguity, proximity to protected areas and is prone to soil erosion. The Pooyamkutty-Perumbankuthu link traverses through dense reed, semi evergreen and evergreen forests. The old bullock cart road was abandoned 81 years ago (in 1924) following a landslide and was covered up by forest growth, leaving no traces of the old gateway but for remnants of old bridge washed away during floods.
“There are no settlements, which can use the highway link through this tract. The road link will fragment nearly 400 sq km of contiguous forest in Pooyamkutty valley,” said the report.The report suggested development of an alternative route passing through Kuttampuzha, Mamalakandam, Avarkutty, Anakulam and Mankulam. It said reopening the old alignment will serve only the purpose of forest destruction. The development of the Mamalakandam road will facilitate better access to the tribal settlements, it said.
The environment impact assessment report prepared by KFRI scientists S Sankar and P Vijayakumaran Nair gives the Pooyamkutty-Perumbankuthu alignment a negative score of minus (-) 64. This is due to effect on soil quality and water holes. Finally the quality of landscape will be severely damaged, cautions the report.
The environmental quality of the stretch has been rated very high in terms of landscape features, contiguity, aesthetics, floral and faunal diversity, wildlife habitat, stream density and cultural importance.
“Roadless areas are critical because they represent the least human-disturbed habitats in an almost universally disturbed landscape. These wild areas give us reservoirs of genetic material, and are benchmarks for experimental restoration efforts in intensively managed landscapes,” says the report.
NATPAC had abandoned the project based on the report.
A path through dense forest
The forest stretch of Old Aluva-Munnar Road passes through Kuttampuzha forest range under Malayattur Forest Division. From Pooyamkutty, the road runs along the left bank of Pooyamkutty river up to Kunjiar camp shed. At Kunchiyar, the road crosses the stream, while the road to Avarkutty used by reed cutters runs parallel to the stream. The bridge was washed away in the 1924 floods. The road heads northeast and reaches the banks of Karinthiriyar and turns east running parallel to the river. The vegetation is dense evergreen interspersed with reed brakes. The soil is loose and extremely vulnerable to slips.