Ethnic communities of the Nilgiris oppose Sillahala hydropower project

CHENNAI: The ethnic communities of The Nilgiris are up in arms against the Sillahala pumped storage project, and have petitioned the district collector.

“If this project is implemented, agricultural land will be damaged, rivers will dry up, and our centuries’ old livelihoods will be destroyed. We’re not only afraid of this environmentally destructive plan, but we also register our strong protest against the current state of the urban environment, which will further harm the remaining landscape,” the letter read.

More than 10,000 indigenous people of the Badaga community would be displaced and lose their livelihoods. The project would have an adverse impact on other communities living in the water catchment area, the letter stated.

“Indigenous people, including our forefathers, have been living here for centuries. Due to this project, they will lose their native agricultural lands and become refugees. This will lead to loss of social structure and migration to urban areas,” said a member of the Badaga community.

The existing Kundah hydropower project has already affected the environment. Two more would be disastrous, they opined. Also, diversion of the Sillahalla stream will further reduce its flow and create the risk of further weakening the land and leading to natural disasters. It would also destroy the routes of elephants and divert them towards human habitats.

More than 25 endemic plant species and the sacred grass maintained by the Toda people are threatened with extinction, petition said. “A biosphere reserve plant that has been associated with the culture of the ancient Toda people would be damaged through this project. As The Nilgiris area is a place where the livelihood rights of certain tribal people are established under the Forests Act, evicting them is not acceptable,” the letter added.