petition on change.org
Dear Sir,
A railway track is going to be laid from Mysore to Coorg District. Coorg is the Water Tank of Bangalore. Coorg being a hilly and forested area the River Cauvery is born here. And it is the Cauvery that provides IT city Bangalore, with its drinking water.
WHY THE RAILWAY TRACK TO COORG (KODAGU) MUST BE STOPPED.
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The estates and forests here are the main rain catchment area for the River Cauvery. 50% of the volume of water in the River is from here, and this volume has been decreasing steadily.
- For a railway track to be laid, lakhs and lakhs of trees will need to be cut in this ecologically sensitive area.
- The River Cauvery is the lifeline of South India and provides water to over 80 million (8 crore) people, and 600 major industries across the region. It is therefore in the National Interest to preserve the Coorg ecology.
- The food, water and economic security of Southern Karnataka and Tamil Nadu hinges largely on the Cauvery River. In Karnataka, these regions include the citizens and farmers of Bangalore, Mysore, Mandya and Coorg. And in Tamil Nadu it covers the districts of Salem, Erode, Trichy, Thanjavur and Nagapattinam.
- Simply put, no trees in Coorg means no River Cauvery. Every tree holds 30,000 to 40,000 litres of water, its roots release water underground to form tiny streams, and its leaves give off moisture into the air to create humidity that invites rain from passing clouds.
- The sad truth is that already lakhs of trees have been cut for various so-called development projects. A high-tension power line that could have gone down the coast of Karnataka, instead of coming inland to cut over 50,000 trees in the forests of Coorg. A road-widening to highway standards project, is ongoing.
- Four new species of trees were added to the list of trees that can be cut as timber. This has caused a further loss of lakhs of trees within the last year.
WHY SPEND RS. 1800 CRORE FOR A RAILWAY TRACK THAT HAS BEEN FOUND ECONOMICALLY NOT VIABLE?
- Earlier studies done by the Railway Department of the economic feasibility of this route, have declared that this track is not financially viable. The population of Coorg and the potential traffic of customers do not call for a railway track.
- The track if executed will be done at a cost Rs. 1800 crores, the returns are far too small to justify this large expense. This money can be used for more urgent and important purposes in the Country.
- The excuse of promoting tourism is being given by the Govt, but the truth is there are already too many resorts and home stays, and stinking piles of garbage are lining many of the roads.
- Another excuse given by the Government is that the coffee grown here can be sent by train to Mangalore port, but the fact is that coffee is already being despatched by road, quite efficiently and economically.
WHAT WILL THE IMPACT BE OF THE RAILWAY TRACK ENTERING COORG, ON ALL THE OTHER AREAS CONCERNED?
- For the railway track to enter Coorg district, it has to overcome the many laws which are intended to protect a hilly, forested, tribal district. Therefore, once the railway track enters this district it will definitely travel further to Madikeri, and then criss-cross all over the district to the borders with Kerala, and the borders of the Karnataka districts of Dakshina Kannada and Hassan.
- Finally there will be so many tracks laid and so many lakhs of trees lost, that the local tree cover will no longer be able to generate rain and hold the water to create the River Cauvery.
- The biggest losers in this tragedy will be the 8 crore people of Karnataka (including Bangalore), and Tamil Nadu, who depend on the River Cauvery.
- The tree loss from the railway track entering Coorg would be so much that it is difficult to calculate, and the long-term effect on the climate and water supply is difficult to predict. Though the heat wave conditions of the summer of 2016, and the water shortage, gave us an unpleasant taste of things to come.
Please sign this petition and forward it to others who will support the cause. Help us to stop the railway track to Coorg, save the trees and protect the drinking water of 8 crore Indians in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
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