The proposed Thalassery-Mysuru railway line has left environmentalists in both Karnataka and Kerala fuming. An online petition is gaining momentum opposing the project, which could harm the rich biodiversity of both the states. The online petition will eventually be delivered to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Minister of Railways, Piyush Goyal, and Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr Harshavardhan.Environmentalists in Madikeri want the project to be dropped, as thousands of trees will be axed, which, in turn, will affect the rainfall pattern of the area. Already, 50,000 trees have been chopped in the region for the high-tension power line. Now, environmentalists are looking at launching a massive protest to protect the rich flora and fauna of Madikeri.A prominent project on rail connectivity from north Kerala to Mysuru-Bengaluru is the Nilambur-Nanjangund line. Though, this had been included in the Pink Book of Railways and ?8 crore set apart for the detailed project report, the government has kept the project in abeyance following strong objection from the Karnataka Forest Department The railway line passes through the forest area covering 49 km in Kerala and 35 km in Karnataka. The proposed railway line touches wild life sanctuaries in Kottiyoor, Waynad, Nagarahole and Bandipur. This project is a serious ecological threat to endangered flora and fauna and will destroy the rich repositories of biological diversity having large chunks of tropical evergreen forest. The area has supported almost all species of animals found in the Western Ghats, including elephants, bison, tiger, leopard, wild dog, langurs and deer.The Kannavam-Periya tract is known as a rare habitat of the King Cobra. Endangered species such as Malabar Ebony, Kulavu, Chora Pine and Jathi are largely found in these areas. The Periya forest is also identified as one among the 18 Medicinal Plant Conservation Areas of the Western Ghats. This forest is the connecting link of the largest elephant reserve in South India from the Mudumalai, Bandipur-Nilambur tract to the Bramhagiri Hills of Karnataka. If the forest is disturbed, the elephants will come to human settlements of Nedumpoil and Edayar resulting in man-animal conflict in the zone. Podanur-Madukkarai railway section, on the Coimbatore-Palakkad route will be death traps for elephants.The forest tract of the Western Ghats is a source of water for the rivers of north Kerala from Valapattanam to Mahe . More than three lakh people of Thalassery taluk depending on the Anjarakandi Puzha would be affected. Also, 1,000-odd tribal families belonging to the Kurichiyar community live in the Kannavam forests in 33 settlements. They will be lose their livelihood, culture and traditional forest rights,

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