https://www.change.org/p/chief-minis...etition-no_msg
Subhash Bhai, Many people have signed. I too.
The matter is before Hon'ble Supreme Court of India. It has ordered the PWD, Govt. of Uttarakhand to prepare a new alignment of the project.( The Hindu, N. Delhi : 26 March 2017)
I have highest regard for Judiciary of our country.The Sundarbans where I have seen three King Cobras ( life-time award for me ) would have vanished if our Judicial System had not been in place.
" Democracy is the worst form of Government, except for all the others that have been tried from time to time."
- Winston S. Churchill 1947
Process is slow in our system, hence I quoted Churchill.
Thanks for sharing.
SaktiWild
Dear Sakti da;
I fully agree with you. The onus of Democracy is on the people to make it all inclusive, including the wildlife. Forests and Wildlife do not make to the priority of most of the Governments, more so when the focus becomes unilateral on the "Development".
We are at the inflection point and are fast sliding towards the irreversible damage to the wildlife.
Thanks for the response, sir. We need to debate more on such issues in this forum.
Great to see that someone has started a petition. This issue has been covered in the March IndiaWilds issue. https://www.indiawilds.com/diary/ind...l-9-issue-iii/
It would be a disaster to cut open Corbett just to reduce the distance by some 35kms or so. Highways are like knives. They can bring in development if the highway has been planned judiciously. Else, it becomes disastrous for the environment and wildlife as well as for people. With the lives of people so intricately linked with our environment, cutting open a forest has got massive ramifications. It is not just a question of creating a underpass or overpass for animals to cross over. The habitat for many species will be fragmented forever. The peace and tranquility of Corbett would be over forever. It would be a massive hit.
During the days of the British, their brutal hunting records suggest that they had bagged 10-11 tigers from a small patch of forest. This only way one can see high tiger density is if there are plenty of prey species available. With selective logging, indiscriminate cutting of forests for fuel wood, mindless plantation and creation of dams and canals and ofcourse poaching, Corbett has changed. Whatever little is left shouldn't be sacrificed in the name of "development".
With increased speeds of vehicles as well as better quality of roads, the time taken to travel an extra 35 kms is hardly half an hour and even less in many cases. So is that a justification to create such an highway. Toll can be waived in those roads. In Mumbai, politicians of MNS routinely beat up toll booth employees and as a result Government decided to remove toll collection from some roads. Same can be done for the travel from Kumaon to Garhwal regions so that people don't call for a road through corbett to avoid toll.
I have a lot of faith on courts. However, courts are also manned by judges and some of the judges don't seem to appreciate the importance of biodiversity. The judges ask specific question like if there is a solution. Now, the Government appointed agencies are also manned by people who can't stand up to the might of the authorities. So they cave in and dilute the mitigation measures. Institutions fail because people manning those institutions fail. People fail because, the overall value system of the society has gone down. People these days can compromise and still live with their head held high. And ofcourse one can say that people fail because these days people like Sam Manekshaw, Arjun Singh etc are not being born any more? Or is it that we don't recognise such people and give them important positions?