DAMAGE SILENT VALLEY NATIONAL PARK?
Some people in Kerala are raising a lot of hue and cry about the PATHRAKADAVU Hydro electric Project newly proposed in Mannarkkad Taluk Palghat District KERALA South India.
Before reaching into a conclusion on the matter the following facts are to be understood:
1 PATHRAKADAVU Hydro electric Project is not a revival of the Silent valley Hydro Electric Project. The Silent valley dam was proposed in side the Silent Valley forest .The PATHRAKADAVU Hydro electric Project is proposed outside the Silent Valley forest. The reservoir of PATHRAKADAVU Hydro electric Project shall be around 500 m away from the silent valley boundary. The Silent Valley reservoir had a storage capacity of 252 MCM (Million Cubic Meter) and Water Spread Area of 7.35 Sq KM inside Silent Valley forest . But the PATHRAKADAVU Hydro electric Project has Storage capacity of 0.82 MCM only and The Water Spread Area is only 0.04 Sq KM ( 4 hectare) out side Silent Valley forest .How can one with any sense argue that PATHRAKADAVU Hydro electric Project is a revival of the Silent valley Hydro Electric Project ?
2 Negative impacts on Silent valley? The people who are making a lot of noise on the negative impact of Pathrakadavu project on silent valley forest have not taken pains to visit the project site . Thick forests are not damaged by the proposed Pathrakadavu project . Even though the distance from the silent valley forest to the new project site is only 3KM or 4KM, the nature of the forest , flora and fauna in the project area where the dam is to come up are totally different. There are no endangered species like languor, macaque, nilgiri tahr etc in the Pathrakadavu project site. Some people are engaging in false propaganda on the biological impact of the project.
3 Dam Reduces flow in the RIVER? The Dam of Pathrakadavu project is a small one and the Reservoir capacity is minimal. Actually the flowing water in the river is temporarily stored and used to generate power So it is called a Run Off The River project.. Only a small amount of water stored here at any time. . This water after running the Turbines flow to the same river again. All the excess water coming down the river flows over the dam. So the project will not result in Water scarcity in down stream areas. The campaign that Pathrakadavu project will result in scarcity of drinking water ,irrigation, and domestic requirements in the Panchayaths in the downstream is totally false . This is a classic case of misinformation campaign.
4 Access to SILENT VALLEY will be opened ? Even the tail end of the reservoir of the dam is 500M away from the silent valley forest . So there need not be any access to the Silent valley forest due to this project. However the concern on this account is genuine and should be addressed . We can effectively block all the road approaches to the forest area after the project is completed. The forest authorities can provide additional check points in the area and prevent access as is being done at MUKKALI now. During the construction time there should be PEOPLES VIGILANCE SQUADS to prevent unauthorized access. The Construction workers and ENVIRONMENTALISTS can join together to form such squads.
5 Economic viability , accuracy of data etc. All though the Economic viability of the project is a matter to be seriously looked into , one should appreciate that this is not the look out of environmentalists . The agencies who finance the project will definitely convince the economic viability . People with a basic sense of economics would not say that cost of power from such a project will be Rs 8 per unit! .So also the question of accuracy of hydrological data etc area always subject to verification by any agency.
6 WHY SUCH A HUE AND CRY ? The Hue and Cry raised on the newly proposed PATHRAKADAVU Hydro electric Project is a typical case of misinformation campaign . The motives are beyond comprehension. In all the major websites on environmental concern some people are raising false alarms on the damages being done to SILENT VALLEY . Sample letter forms are being published in websites which every body is advised to copy sign and send to authorities ! Is this the way public opinion should be mobilized? Why no body is not willing to come for healthy debates on the matter? What are the Motives behind this campaign?
RAMESH NAIR , Mannarkkad.
Email :
mkd4p@rediffmail.com 
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