KOZHIKODE: The beauty of the community reserve spread over 150 hectares of estuary area between Kadalundi and Valikkunu grama panchayats, which is little known to the world will soon be explored to develop it as a major tourist spot in south India.
The Kadalundi-Vallikkunnu Community Reserve Management Committee has prepared a ten-year-management-plan for the realisation of the challenging task.
The Kadalundi-Vallikkunnu Community Reserve was a first-of-its-kind initiative by the Kerala State Forest Department undertaken two years back for the conservation of nature with people's participation.
The committee has submitted a Rs 14.5 crore management plan to the state government and the Union Forest Ministry for approval. The plan envisages setting up a mangrove nursery and research centre in the area.
The committee also aims to make Kadalundi a major bird watching spot in the country. The place, known for migratory birds, is already a well-known bird sanctuary in Malabar.Thousands of birdwatchers throng the area during September to April to have a glimpse of rare migratory birds. It is one of the feeding grounds in winter for thousands of seabirds and shorebirds that include some rare ones hitherto unrecorded in Kerala. A plan to set up a watch tower to help the birdwatchers has proposed in the management plan. Around 60 species of migratory birds visit Kadalundi every year.
Another proposal in the plan is to set up a butterfly park. Services of tourist guides will also be ensured in the areas to help the domestic and foreign tourists.
"We are also planning to uplift the living standard of more than 5,000 people residing in the reserve areas," said Anil Marath, chairman of the Kadalundi-Vallikunnu Community Reserve Management Committee. We have already forwarded the management plan to both the State and the Union Forest Ministry and hope to get the approval soon, he said.
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