From "Chalakudy river" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
SPARE OUR RIVER- SAVE OUR LIVES
The indefinite Satyagraha launched against the proposed 163 MW Athirappilly HEP
crosses 21 days.
As decided at the Convention on 'Water Rights' held at Athirappilly
Grama Panchayath
on the 27th November 2005, an indefinite Satyagraha has been launched at
Athirappilly by the Chalakudy River Protection Forum, a platform of 30 odd
organizations and led by the Athirappilly Vana Samrakshana Samithi
members with the
demand 'Spare our River and Save our Lives'.
Athirappilly Vana Samrakshana Samithi was formed as part of the Joint Forest
Management effort of the Kerala Forest Department along with the
fringe area forest
dependent communities for protection of the Athirappilly Tourism zone and eco
restoration activities. Atleast 500 families living in the fringe areas directly
depend on the income from tourism related activities at the famous Athirappilly
waterfalls and the surrounding forests for their livelihood. They
decided to launch
the indefinite Satyagraha to protect their river and main source of
livelihood, the
Athirappilly Waterfalls that would be reduced to a trickle if the dam is built
upstream and water is diverted to the powerhouse below the waterfalls. The
waterfalls attract atleast 6-8 lakh tourists every year. Further, the proposed
project will curtail the drinking and irrigation needs of 20 odd downstream
panchayaths. The tribal R&R plan in the EIA by WAPCOS is incomplete and has
deliberately downsized the actual displacement of the 300 odd 'Kadar' tribals, a
primitive hunter-gatherer community. The loss of low altitude riparian forests,
elephant corridor, fish diversity and hornbill habitat would be
irrevocable if the
dam is built.
The consistent ongoing struggle against the dam, the details of which
are known to
all has thus taken a new turn. Meanwhile, all the official procedures before dam
construction are complete and the preliminary work can start at any moment.
Tourists visiting the area, concerned individuals, Merchants
Associations, Kerala
Forest Protective Staff Association, Kerala State Road Transport
Corporation Staff
Association, etc. are already extending support to the Satyagraha. A
mass signature
campaign drive is going on at the Satyagraha site. Dr.Sukumar Azhikode
a well-known
Gandhian writer and Social Activist have agreed to address the
Satyagraha on the18th
January.
Your support and solidarity to the people involved in the indefinite
Satyagraha is
crucial at this juncture if the Government has to take the right step
of abandoning
this economically and ecologically unviable project. Your solidarity
with the cause
can be expressed by involving in any one of the following;
1. Write/ Fax/ e mail to the CM, Kerala, Sri Ommen Chandy and
Sri Aryadan Mohammad,
Power Minister, Kerala to pay serious attention to the concerns voiced
by the people
against the proposed project and abandon the move to go ahead with the project.
Sri. OmmenChandy
Chief Minister of Kerala
North Block
Secretariat
Thiruvananthapuram
Kerala
Phone: 91-471- 2333812, 2333682
Fax : 2333489
Email : [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sri Aryadan Mohammad
Minister for Power
North Block
Secretariat
Thiruvananthapuram
Kerala
Office: 91-471- 2333254, 2327651
Residence: 2312330, 2312331
Fax : 2333294
2. Share the message far and wide and request others to respond
immediately.
3. Make press statements in your region in support of the
campaign and Satyagraha.
4. Request your media friends to write features and articles
etc. any additional
information can be provided by us.
5. Please take time away from your busy schedule to spend a day
with the people
involved in the Satyagraha. You can inform your convenient dates in advance to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
6. Wherever possible, involve students in the campaign by
asking them to write to
the CM and the Power Minister to abide by the 'intergenerational
equity rights', to
stop the move to go ahead with the project and to preserve the Athirappilly
waterfalls and the Chalakudy river for future generations.
In Solidarity and Peace,
S.Unnikrishnan
Media Convener
Chalakudy River Protection Forum
Chalakudy
Ph: +91-487-5524110
09846748081
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
--
Knowledge is power... share it equitably!
http://www.gnu.org
