The Chief Minister Of Tamil Nadu Urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi To Abandon The Neutrino Project

M K Stalin
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M K Stalin

Highlights

  • M K Stalin, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday to abandon the Centre's plan to establish an India-based Neutrino Observatory in Pottipuram village in Theni district.
  • He gave the severe consequences that the project could have on the village and the ecosystem of the region.

M K Stalin, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday to abandon the Centre's plan to establish an India-based Neutrino Observatory in Pottipuram village in Theni district.The project is placed in the Bodi Hills West Reserve Forest in the southern Western Ghats, 4.9 kilometres from Mathikettan Shola National Park.

The chief minister remarked making a special plea to Modi during his prior visit in June last year and a ministerial delegation from state to the Union minister for industry and commerce, Piyush Goyal, in September. He gave the severe consequences that the project could have on the village and the ecosystem of the region.

In a letter to Modi, Stalin stated the request was expressed in the wider interest of protection of the region's rich wildlife and biodiversity, as the project will cause irrevocable damage to the fragile and delicate eco-system. He stated that the Mathikettan-Periyar Tiger Corridor serves a key purpose in sustaining genetic flow, which will be disrupted by project activities.
The state environmental impact assessment authority (SEIAA) made observations in November 2017 while evaluating the petition for giving environmental clearance, according to the chief minister.
According to the authority, the tunnelling activity entailed blasting in the hard and composite rock mass, which necessitated a large quantity of high-explosive explosives to break it. The project also necessitated the removal of 6 lakh cubic metres of Charnockite rock from the mountain.
The SEIAA went on to add that the tunnel and cavern would be 1,000 metres below the mountain's summit. At a depth of 1,000 metres, mountain rock will be under tremendous pressure, with vertical tension exceeding 270 kilogrammes per square metre. This will result in issues such as rock busting and roof collapse. For safety reasons, the proposals will need to be evaluated using geotechnical studies.
Meanwhile, the planned region is a major watershed and catchment region for the rivers Sambal and Kottakudi. Small streams on the west side of the Bodi Hills join the Kottakudi River, which then combines with the Periyar River before pouring into the Vaigai Dam. According to Stalin, the watershed was the lifeblood of the local population, providing water for drinking and agricultural requirements in five districts of Tamil Nadu.

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