The two drinking water projects, Ettinahole and Mekedatu projects, will be a death knell for the last remaining wildlife habitats in the Western Ghats and the Cauvery Sanctuary in Karnataka.
Story so far: The government’s plan to sink 12,000 acres of the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary for the Ettinahole project could pose a huge threat to wildlife in the Western Ghats. However, the opposition Congress has declared that it will implement the Mekedatu project to provide drinking water for Bengaluru.
- Retired bureaucrat and environmentalist Dr AN Yallappa Reddy highlighted that both projects would destroy the core area.
- He also said that the forest region is a regular corridor for elephants to flock, and this is the only place it is possible for them to do so.
Alternatives: Reddy iterated that instead of going ahead with these projects to generate drinking water, the government should look at alternative options. Recycling water, for example, is possible to solve the problem of drinking water. He observed that many projects such as mining activities, and hydroelectric projects have wiped out a huge chunk of the core forest area.