KJU STATE LEADERSHIP CAMP AT SILENT VLALLEY NATIONAL PARK, THE ONLY RAIN FOREST OF KERALA IN PALAKKAD DISTRICT

Silent Valley is one of few rain forests in the world  and part of Nilgri Biosphere in the Western Ghats. This unique evergreen forest is described as “the richest expression of life on earth”. It is estimated to have an evolutionary age of over 50 million years. It is a habitat of vide variety of flora and fauna many of them are rare.

This “ecological island” is said to be the  only remaining tropical evergreen forests in the Sahya ranges. Conservation of  Silent Valley was the focus of an ecological controversy during the ate Seventies and early Eighties after the Kerala State Electricity Board proposed a hydel project in the Kunthi river in the Valley.  After an expert committee report headed by late Prof. M.G.K. Menon then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi directed the Kerala government to  drop the hydel project and declared Silent Valley as a National Park in 1982. On September 5, 1985 the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi visited the Valley  and the final notification establishing the Park was issued on November 7, 1985.

Silent Valley area also accounts for one of the highest rainfall levels in India of nearly 9000 mm.  Mawsynram in the Khasi Hills of Meghalaya is known as the world’s wettest place with an annual rainfall of over 11,000 mm.  Cheerapunji near that area held the record earlier. Thus Silent Valley  has the second highest annual rain fall of over 9000 mm after Cheerapunji and Maswynram.

The Kerala Journalists Union (KJU), the state unit of the Indian Journalists Union (IJU) organized a two-day nature camp and state leadership meet at Silent Valley on May 28-29, 2023. It was inaugurated by G.  Prabhakaran, Vice President of Indian Journalists Union (IJU) and presided over by U. Vikraman, President of Kerala Journalists Union (KJU).