Neelakurinji plants burnt at Jendapara

Kottayam:   The  encroachers have destroyed hundreds  of Neelakurinji plants  at Jendapara near Kottakambur in the proposed Kurinji sanctuary area,  but the  forest authorities have not taken any action against the culprits.  The plants were found burnt  in August and their remnants are seen  there, according to forest department sources.   Jendapara  is an inaccessible area where one can reach only after walking for at least  two  hours from the  Kottakambur  village.   The National Green Tribunal had criticised the government for not releasing the final notification of the Kurinji sanctuary.  The Neelakurinji is expected to bloom by next year.

The incident surfaced even as the government has constituted a special committee to relook the boundary of the sanctuary  where  nearly 1,000 acres are allegedly under the possession of encroachers.      Mr  S. Siby,  range officer in charge of  Shola range,  refused to say anything  "since the issue has become a controversy."  The  region comes under the jurisdiction of the Munnar WildLife Warden.