Soil extraction by levelling hillocks at Mattappally and other parts of the Onattukara region will adversely affect the making of ‘Nandikeshas’ (huge bull effigies), writer and environmentalist C. Rahim has said.
He was releasing the logo of Nandikesha Shilpa Paithrika Karakaushala Swayam Sahaya Sangham (NPKS) under the Vasthuvidya Gurukulam at Nooranad in Alappuzha recently. The gurukulam comes under the Department of Culture.
Mr. Rahim said that Nandikesha sculptures were carved by artistes on the wood of the Indian Devil Tree (Blackboard tree), which was found in large numbers in the region. Destroying the hillocks would result in the loss of the trees. He called to plant the saplings of the Indian Devil Tree in large numbers in Onattukara.
