Environmentalists seek wider action for killing of cormorant nestlings in Malappuram

Sterner action by booking government officials needed, they say

Even as the Forest Department reasserted on Saturday that it would ensure punishment for those responsible for the killing of dozens of cormorant nestlings at V.K. Padi near Tirurangadi in the district, environmentalists have called for further and sterner action by booking government officials involved in the highway expansion.

Dozens of cormorant nestlings and eggs were destroyed when a big tamarind tree was cut down as part of the National Highway 66 expansion at V.K. Padi on Friday. The visual footages of the gruesome death of the hatchlings had evoked an uproar and widespread condemnation.

Although Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran and Public Works Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas expressed concern and demanded action against those responsible, environmentalists said here on Saturday that they could not absolve themselves of responsibility.

“Being heads of their respective departments, the Ministers have moral responsibility,” said Wildlife Protection and Conservation Society executive S. Guruvayurappan, and Paristhithi Aikya Vedi district chairman Boban Mattumantha.

Mr. Guruvayurappan and Mr. Mattumantha expressed concern that the brouhaha raised over the destruction of cormorant nestlings, nests, and eggs would die down soon, resulting in the people responsible walking away scot-free in due course of time. “We have had several such incidents before, and very few have been punished,” they said.

The Forest Department arrested three persons in connection with the destruction of the cormorant nestlings. They were the wood cutter, the driver of an earth mover, and the person who took contract for tree felling.

Nilambur North Divisional Forest Officer T. Aswin Kumar told The Hindu that they were looking for the supervisor of the contracting company involved. KNR Constructions Ltd. (KNRCL) is in charge of the expansion work. “The supervisor for that region is absconding. We are looking into the matter seriously. Once he is nabbed, we will be able to give more details,” said Mr. Aswin Kumar.