Saving Cauvery’s cradle

Saving Cauvery’s cradle

Article:

1. Professor Bopaiah Biddanda discusses the ecological implications of the proposed development of multiple railway tracks in the critical Cauvery river basin in Kodagu district, Karnataka

Important analysis:

Cauvery River:

2. The Cauvery River originates in Karnataka’s Kodagu district, flows into Tamil Nadu, and reaches the Bay of Bengal at Poompuhar.
3. The total catchment area is about 81,000 square kilometres. Parts of three Indian states – Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka – and the Union Territory of Pondicherry lie in the Cauvery basin.

Threats to the Cauvery River:

4. Increasing development pressure from the transportation and construction sectors poses a severe threat to the forests, riverbeds, wildlife and agricultural lands in the catchment areas of Cauvery River.
5. According to various studies, loss of forest cover and change in land use have led to decline in rainfall in the Kodagu catchment area
6. Activities like construction, illegal mining and hill cutting increases the vulnerability to landslides

Ecological implication of proposed rail projects:

7. Tracks would fragment agricultural fields, protected and Reserve Forests that are spread across Kodagu and Mangaluru districts of Karnataka, and Wayanad and Kannur districts of Kerala.
8. Decline in forest cover in the Western Ghats region- This would reduce the capacity to capture and store rainwater.
9. Raised railway tracks will also impede wildlife and could result in the deaths of animals such as elephants.

Steps to be taken:

10. Protection of Kodagu watershed through sustainable watershed management is essential to ensure the water security of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala