KOLLAM: Forest Minister Benoy Viswom has said that nature and environment should be protected for the future generations who have entrusted these to us. He was inaugurating the State-level World Forest Day celebrations organised by the Forest Department here on Sunday.
The Minister said that people of Kerala used to think that sunstroke was a north Indian phenomenon that would never happen in Kerala. But now, several people in the State had got sunstroke. Unseasonal rain had become usual in the State, even destroying precious crops in Kuttanad. But rain seemed to stay away during the season. He said the State which once boasted a systematic climate was now suffering the consequences of an upset climate system. Everyone was answerable to the question who was responsible for upsetting the climatic rhythm.
He said work in the Forest Department was not a mere government job. The fruits of the work could be seen only in the future. As a result of the concerted efforts of the department, 28 per cent of land in the Kerala was now covered by forests, above the national average of 21 per cent. Mr. Viswom said the Silent Valley movement was a big awakening for the environment movement in the State. The Neelakurinji sanctuary would be declared open only after taking care of the interests of the farmers there. In his presidential address, Mayor V. Rajendrababu said that while there was concern that the State was losing its greenery, the Forest Department had come out with schemes that stem this rot. N. Peethambara Kurup, MP; A.A. Aziz, MLA; T.M. Manoharan, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests; W.R. Reddy, Secretary, Forest Department; and District Collector A. Shajahan; spoke.
Source: The Hindu, Dated: 22.03.2010
The Minister said that people of Kerala used to think that sunstroke was a north Indian phenomenon that would never happen in Kerala. But now, several people in the State had got sunstroke. Unseasonal rain had become usual in the State, even destroying precious crops in Kuttanad. But rain seemed to stay away during the season. He said the State which once boasted a systematic climate was now suffering the consequences of an upset climate system. Everyone was answerable to the question who was responsible for upsetting the climatic rhythm.
He said work in the Forest Department was not a mere government job. The fruits of the work could be seen only in the future. As a result of the concerted efforts of the department, 28 per cent of land in the Kerala was now covered by forests, above the national average of 21 per cent. Mr. Viswom said the Silent Valley movement was a big awakening for the environment movement in the State. The Neelakurinji sanctuary would be declared open only after taking care of the interests of the farmers there. In his presidential address, Mayor V. Rajendrababu said that while there was concern that the State was losing its greenery, the Forest Department had come out with schemes that stem this rot. N. Peethambara Kurup, MP; A.A. Aziz, MLA; T.M. Manoharan, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests; W.R. Reddy, Secretary, Forest Department; and District Collector A. Shajahan; spoke.
Source: The Hindu, Dated: 22.03.2010
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