Madikeri, Oct 20 (The Hindu): A group of people representing various organisations and some BJP office-bearers heckled a two-member team from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) that arrived here on Tuesday to evaluate certain sites and report to UNESCO on the feasibility of declaring them as World Heritage Sites.
The team was supposed to visit the Pushpagiri and Brahmagiri wildlife sanctuaries in Kodagu.
Objections
Nanda Belliappa and other members of the Kodagu District Coffee Growers' Association, Wildlife Warden of Kodagu Subhash Somaiah, BJP office-bearers Ravi Kushalappa and Kishore Kumar, and B.T. Dinesh and Rozy Chinnappa of the Nalknad Farmers' Club objected to the team's visit to evaluate certain sites in Kodagu. Why were the people of the district not told about the visit? Was it a clandestine move to displace the people of the district in the name of conservation, they wanted to know.
Mr. Somaiah rebuked the forest officials for not bringing to his notice the team's visit to Kodagu.
Efforts made by Swaminathan, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), to explain the purpose of the team's visit failed as trouble broke out during the press conference addressed by IUCN members Wendy Strahm from Switzerland and Brian Furze from Australia.
President of the Kodagu Zilla Panchayat V.M. Vijaya, president of the Madikeri Taluk Panchayat Subhashini Shekar, leaders of the tribal people J.P. Raju, R.K. Chandra and Kudiyara Muthappa were present.
Mr. Kishore Kumar, Mr. Kushalappa and Mr. Rozy Chinnappa raised slogans against a couple of environmentalists from the district.
The Deputy Conservator of Forests, Madikeri, (Territorial), K.S. Anand, and the Deputy Conservator of Forests, Madikeri, (Wildlife), Motappa, too were accused of being hand in glove with the environmentalists.
‘Last stage'
Later, addressing presspersons outside the Forest Inspection Bungalow premises, Dr. Strahm said the Union Government, which is a signatory to the World Heritage Convention, submitted a proposal seven years ago, recommending 39 biodiversity-rich spots for declaration as World Heritage Sites. Of the 39 spots, 10 are in Karnataka. The process of evaluating the sites recommended by the Union Government began seven years ago and this was the last stage, she added.
The members would inspect the sites and submit a report to the IUCN in November. The IUCN would submit a report to UNESCO and the Union Government on whether the cases referred to it were fit to be declared World Heritage Sites. A report to the Union Government would be given in February. Recommendations were being made to declare them as cultural and natural sites. “We take everything into account,” Dr. Strahm said, making an indirect reference to the chaos here.