Kochi, February 19 A petition has been filed in the Kerala High Court seeking to immediately halt pineapple cultivation activities at the Athirappilly and Kallal plantation estates here, claiming that it poses a significant ecological risk.
The public interest litigation by wildlife activist Angels Nair claimed that the pineapple cultivation was being carried out by the Plantation Corporation of Kerala despite a stop memo and objection issued by the Forest Department.
According to Nair, the work was going on despite the 50-year lease agreement entered into by the Forest Department and the Plantation Corporation in 1970, which ended six years ago.
"Pineapple monoculture involves the heavy use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides that leach into the Chalakudy river."
"The pineapple farm poses a significant ecological risk due to soil erosion, loss of food and fodder, increased human-wildlife conflicts, and pesticides contaminating the Chalakudy river, endangering the health of three million human lives and millions of flora and fauna," the petition claimed.