The mine threatens India’s first sanctuary for thin lorries in Tamil Nadu

As we walk on a pebble -rich road to the Wallaru Falls Falls in Tamil Nadu, we see two earth triets in an open field and stand near the forest. Green Hills is distorted by the noise of the mining and the quarry.

As we approached the waterfall, scattered plants led to degenerate forest remedies for acacia, anojasus and euborbia tree species. The landscape was replaced between agricultural lands and scrub forests, while the high limitations were wrapped in green, green semi -bad and autumn forests.

“Come to see Dew (Thin Lorries in Tamil)? “He heard a woman we met on the path where he lived in a loan sheck. “They only emerge in the twilight time. Their whistle songs announce their presence. He referred to the types of lorries, including “Rama Tevangu”, which refers to the forehead of the Hindu deity Rama. However, he noted that Lorries’s views were slowing down late.

We are in the perimeter of the Gadavoor Thin Lorries Sanctuary, India’s first sanctuary for gray thin loris. Established in October 2022, the sanctuary is 11,806 sq. Km across the state of Karur and Tindigul districts and western and eastern margins. In recent times, illegal red sand mining and brick manufacturing activities have been developing threats to the sanctuary.

Threats to thin lorries

Thin lorries are dangerous Table I species under the 1972 Wildlife Protection Act of India, which provides them with the highest protection. There are two branches of ash thin loris in India: Malabar Gray Slice Loris and Mysore Gray Slnder Loris in the western greenery of wet greens. The Mysore tributaries are found in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka with brown-gray color.

Provided inspection Salim Ali Center for Eyesology and Natural History With the Tamil Nadu Forest Department in 2022, the Karur and Tindigul forests are estimated to be 8,844 and 8,412 gray thin lorries respectively. Other wildlife in the landscape Great squirrels.

Thin lorries are arbore and night -time animals. They refer to environmental health, prosperous in areas with rich biodiversity and continuous canopy cover. However, sand mining, registration and agriculture isolates the degeneration of the forests is isolates thin lorries and forcing them to stay under hedge plants and farm trees.

The study Show them to seek refuge in the shrubs and the acacia trees at the lowest altitude (300 metric -500 meters). In a study in Tindigul in 1996, they show that they rely on the Acacia trees and the thin -meal links because their thin legs are inappropriate for flowing.

“Large parts of the thin lorries habitat are lost, and the remaining forests and agricultural hedges are forced to live as refugees in high density,” said Honnavalli Numara, the chief scientist of the Salim Ali Center for Eyes and Natural History.

Cultural superstitions are also at risk of loris, which are hunted for witchcraft and amulets. However, such procedures are in decline.

Local people in the region rely on forests for their livelihood for their livelihood. M Palanivel, founder of the local non -profit seed Foundation, said that Agricultural Forestry Projects provide alternative livelihoods and that serious campaigns encourage local people to protect Loris. “They will no longer hunt or use witchcraft,” he said.

Lorries fall prey to accidents when crossing fragmented landscapes. “Deforestation is forced to get rid of Larce on the ground, it easily fell prey to predators and vehicles,” said Sanmukham Natarajan, a local activist of the Tamil Nadu Stone Quarry movement.

According to the enthusiasts, a new accidental threat is the units of illegal red soil mining and brick making units, which have moved from Coimbatore to Gaddur after the intervention of the National Green Tribunal and the Madras High Court. “These miners are exploiting private agricultural lands, state lands and streams near the sanctuary,” said Geologist and activist R Mohan Das. “Forests, water bodies and elephant corridors are severely distorted.

The Madras High Court and the National Green Tribunal have issued orders to ban red soil tunnel in Coimbatore, especially in the state and private lands near the mountains, which will affect the environment.

Max

Mining workers at Gadavur target red gravel soil, lattarite and sand clay that are suitable for making bricks. They buy agricultural land around Gadavur, raise prices and negatively affect the landscape. The firewood for the kiln is also derived from the nearby state and agricultural lands. Since these lands are less than two kilometers from the Loris Sanctuary, this function is known to disrupt the soft environmental balance, consider the enthusiasts.

Due to the lack of official data, the amount of illegal tunnel in Gadavur is unclear. However, from the situation of Coimbatore, intelligence can be obtained on the potential consequences of such mining, where 186 illegal brick kilns in the Valley were closed by court orders by 2021. The kilns left the trenches at a depth of 15-35 meters. After the closures, the activities were transferred to the environmental sensitivity areas near the Western Ghats.

“Illegal red soil mining workers and brick manufacturers violate key regulations, including approved mining projects, environmental clearance, pollution control and security measures. They also create unauthorized roads and structures throughout the stream without permission of the Mountain Area Safety Commission,” says Coimbatore’s social activist and Valley Mineral. Dadakam S Ganesh is the coordinator of the wealth safety team.

Activists fear a similar destruction in Gadavur if immediate action is not taken to prevent the tunnel. They warn that the safety goals of the unwanted destruction may undermine the safety goals.

“In the Karur district, red soil, sand, clay and gravel are cut from streams and ponds near the sanctuary at night, which further discredit the environment,” says Mohan Das.

At the Mullipadi Panchayat Gram Sabha meeting held in Tinadul district last October, members passed a resolution urging the district administration to protect thin lorries from illegal mining impacts. A copy of the resolution is with Mongabey India.

Since then, the district collector has conducted checks in the surrounding villages of the Mining and Geological Survey. The effect of these actions has not been released; At the time of publishing this article, the district collector does not respond to calls or emails. However, a village administration official confirmed that there was an investigation into a brick section and that the farmers had illegally excavated the red soil for personal use.

Safety call

Experts call more detailed studies and target strategies to protect thin lorries and its habitat.

Arun Shankar, a member of the Balani Hills Conservation Council and a prominent lawyer of the sanctuary, says that environmental tourist initiatives, loris tracks and camps may raise more awareness. Sankar said, “Unused forest buildings can be converted into night trexisms, and toilets run by local communities can generate income, raise awareness and prevent illegal activities.”

A project report was submitted to the state government by 2023, a proposal for the District Forest Office to oversee the sanctuary administration and proposes environmental tourism, Outrech and security programs, but the financial approval is pending.

The sanctuary is also a conservator of the forests of the false Tindigul district. Kanchana said a research center has been established in Ayalur to provide regional-specific information about thin lorries. He says that efforts are being made to restore degraded forests and plant fruit -bearing trees that benefit Loris.

This article was first published Mongbey.