NILGIRIS: Nilgiris-based conservation activist S Jayachandran, a forerunner in protecting the environment and wildlife in Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR), died due to cardiac arrest at his residence in Fernhill on Friday morning. He was 65.
Jayachandran has reformed elephant poachers, many of whom are now working as forest watchers in Kerala. He opposed and stopped the state government from laying a road via Karamadai-Mulli-Ooty in 1998 and widening the Hasanur Kollegal highway, which otherwise would have hindered wildlife movement.
Osai K Kalidass, founder of Osai and member of the State Board for Wildlife (SBWL), said, “Jayachandran, who was the joint secretary of Tamil Nadu Green Movement, was the first person in the state to raise his voice urging the centre to declare Western Ghats as ecologically sensitive area due to its richness in biological diversity and endemism. Also, he worked tirelessly to preserve wildlife habitat and protect them from encroachers. Inspired by his work, I joined Jayachandran.”
N Sadiq Ali, founder of Nilgiris-based Wildlife and Nature Conservation Trust (WNCT), who was Jayachandran’s close friend for over 20 years, said he had helped the forest department to arrest wildlife offenders several times. “After Jayachandran raised awareness about the government’s decision to relocate people in Thengumarahada, which came under Sathymangalam Tiger Reserve (STR), to facilitate easy movement of animals, many people came forward to relocate,” he added.
Jayachandran played a key role in stopping the Kerala government’s attempt to construct check dams on the Bhavani River, which would have deprived a water source for the Kongu region. Also, he stopped Sathymangalam Samrajnagar railway track proposal inside the STR and Neutrino observatory at Singara, which is an elephant corridor in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR).