Volunteers, local residents and members of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) search for survivors in the debris left by a slandslide at Puthumala at Meppadi in the Wayanad
"Malappuram: Kavalappara of Malappuram district and Puthumala of Wayanad district, where several people died following landslides, are listed in Ecologically Fragile Land (EFL) of Gadgil Committee report.
This time disaster has happened in the areas which were marked as EFL in the report submitted by committee headed by Dr. Madhav Gadgil to the then Union Forest-Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh.
Western Ghats is a 1600 km long mountain range stretching from Tapti River of Gujarat to Kanyakumari. Geological areas of Western Ghats in Kerala is divided into nine parts. The area which covers Nilambur and Meppadi is one among them.
Gadgil committee has listed the area covering Nilambur and Meppadi in the list of newly identified EFLs. Nilambur and Meppadi are adjacent areas. EFL is classified into three, based on geographical features. Pothukallu and Meppadi, where landslides occurred, are listed under zone-1 of EFL. Pothukallu including Kavalappara, Karulai and banks of Chaliyar are places in Malappuram district figuring in zone-1. Vazhikkadav, Chunkathara, Amarambalam, Chokode and Karuvarakkund are listed in zone-2.
Most of the places in Wayanad are listed in protected areas or zone-1.
The committee had suggested non-renewal of license for mining and other activities. It also suggested that license of quarries should not be renewed after 2016. Illegal mining is continuing in the areas as the government rejected the report. Though mining is not done in Kavalappara, neghbouring areas of Vellimuttam Murukanjiram and Pathar have illegal quarries.