The Kerala Hydel Tourism Center (KHTC), the hydel tourism wing under Kerala State Electricity Board, has submitted an affidavit dismissing the finding that the Anayirankal dam is situated in the middle of a forest area.
The hydel tourism wing stopped operating boats in the dam on July 14 based on a directive of the Kerala High Court (HC). The HC-appointed expert panel committee recommended that boating caused disturbances to wild elephants. According to officials, the court will consider the case on Monday.
In the affidavit, the KHTC director Narendra Nath Veluri stated that he had practical experience of almost eight years in the field dealing with human-elephant conflict as a Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) in North Wayanad Division. “Anayirankal boating area is located adjacent to the residential areas called ‘Layam’ or cluster homes. Buses, Jeeps and many other vehicles pass through the area. The Kochi-Dhanushkodi National Highway (NH) is at a distance of 600 meters from the Anayirankal tourism centre,” said the affidavit.
“The boating site is surrounded by tea plantations of Harrisons Malayalam Limited (HML), Anayirankal Tea Plantation, and private lands,” it said. The KHTC said in it affidavit that during eight years of operation of the boating centre in Anayirankal, there was only one reported instance of elephant visibility in this area of the reservoir during the day time. The working hours of the boating centre was from 9.15 a.m. to 5.15 p.m., and boating activity was limited to 10% of the water spread of Anayirankal reservoir in the plantation area. Also, the forest area is located kilometers away from the boating area. Therefore, boating at Anayirankal is unlikely to affect wildlife.
The affidavit also stated that steps had been initiated to switch over to green energy and the boats’ engines to electrical/solar. “Anayirankal boating centre is essential to decongest the rush of tourists arriving at Munnar. A similar type of boating activity is being carried out as eco-tourism by Kerala Forest department in Thekkady in Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) and also, diesel vehicles operate daily morning and evening on wildlife safari for tourists in Muthanga and Tholpetty,” it said.
It also stated that the ban on boating activity would adversely affect the tourism sector and the livelihood of local people and nearly 10 KHTC workers. Mr Velluri said that the KHTC had already submitted their statement of facts before the court. “ The KHTC wishes to continue the tourism activities in Anayirankal and we hope the court will consider it,” he said.
