Hyderabad: Environmental and social activists are mobilizing against Telangana government’s decision to allocate 2,900 acres of Damagundam forest in Pudur mandal, Vikarabad district to the Indian Navy, for constructing a low-frequency radar station. The protest highlights concerns over environmental degradation and the impact on local ecosystems, given the forest’s proximity to Hyderabad.
The activists under the banner of “Save Damagundam JAC” are holding a protest at Dharna Chowk near Indira Park at 11 am on Sunday, September 22.
Environmental activist Dusharla Satyanarayana, former MLC Prof K Nageshwar, Tollywood producer Tammareddy Bharadwaj, independent journalist and activist Thulasi Chandu, anchor Jhansi, students from Osmania University among others, will be speaking on the occasion.
As part of the project, the Indian Navy intends to build a township for the officers and other staff, schools, hospitals, banks, markets, roads and other infrastructure in the forest land by 2027.
In response to the felling of nearly 12 lakh trees for the development project, the Indian Navy has issued a notice stating it would plant an equal number of trees across the country.
In response to a public interest litigation by ‘Save Damagundam JAC,’ it was revealed that between 2014 and 2020, the principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) of Telangana approved the felling of 12,12,753 trees in the state, as documented in a 2020 submission to the Telangana High Court.
Activists are urging authorities to recognize that the Musi, Esa, and Kagna rivers originate from the forests of Vikarabad district. They emphasize that Damagundam forest, home to numerous medicinal trees, is one of the country’s rare natural forests and must be preserved for its ecological significance.
Damagundam forest is known for housing a 500-year-old Ramalingeshwara temple and a ‘Gundam’ where water is available throughout the year.
Activists pointed out that building such a project by cutting the trees in the catchment areas of these rivers is a violation of the very objective of the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Monitoring and Protection Agency (HYDRA), warning that there is a chance of Musi River drying-up if the project takes shape.
Activists argue that approximately 60,000 residents from 20 villages surrounding Damagundam forest rely on the area for grazing cattle and other essential needs. They caution that the proposed radar station will involve constructing a boundary wall, restricting local access and further threatening their livelihoods.
Environmentalists caution that the proposed radar station project will destroy the natural habitat, potentially leading to more frequent natural calamities in and around Hyderabad. They emphasize that this development threatens to eliminate crucial green spaces, undermining the city’s ecological balance.
Presently roads are being laid around the forest to facilitate the next phase of the project’s work.
Through their protest on Sunday, environmental and social activists want to draw the attention of the Congress government to the grave danger that the project poses and hope to see the project stalled at any cost.
