Western ghats: Karnataka’s slippery slope to disaster

“Western Ghats” is a chain of mountains that run parallel to the western coast of the Indian peninsula. These Ghats are also known as the “Sahyadris” – meaning ‘the Benevolent Mountains’). It is also a UNESCO World Herit—age Site and is one of the eight “Mega – Biodiversity Hot-Spots” in the world. The Western Ghats are sometimes also called the ‘Great Escarpment of India’. These mountain ranges run North to South along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain, called the ‘Konkan’, along the Arabian Sea. Totally thirty nine (39) properties covering national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserve forests were designated as World Heritage Sites. Twenty (20) of these in Kerala, ten (10) in Karnataka, five (05) in Tamil Nadu and four (04) in Maharashtra. Read more

Courtesy: Deccan chronicle