KOZHIKODE: After five years of court battle, the environmentalists can finally celebrate victory as the authorities started demolishing the four illegally constructed check-dams at the PVR Nature Resort in Kakkadampoyil on Monday.
In February 2023, the High Court ordered the demolition of the dams at the resort owned by LDF MLA PV Anwar within a month. The court also ordered contempt of court proceedings against the district collector for not demolishing the check-dams in the resort built in 2017 at an altitude of 3000 feet above sea level.
The water theme park is located in an extremely ecologically sensitive area and the construction of three concrete dams plus one earthen embankment, constructed without any permission blocked the natural flow of water to the Iruvazhinji River, according to environmentalists who challenged the construction in the court.
Murugesh Narendran, a planter, and industrialist filed the first complaint against the dams with the Chairman of the Disaster Management Authority, Kozhikode, demanding that the barriers be demolished, pointing out the construction of barricades without permission and the possibility of disasters. He pointed out that the barricades against the flow of water were built in the high-hazard zone which is the area of landslides.
This was followed by KV Jiju, a native of Kakadampoyil, who filed a complaint with the Koodaranji Panchayat Secretary in 2018, asking to take action against the dams and the resort.