Pawan calls for protection of Erra Matti Dibbalu

Visakhapatnam: If the state government failed to respond to protect the rarest heritage site Erra Matti Dibbalu (red sand dunes) in Andhra Pradesh, Jana Sena Party chief K Pawan Kalyan said he would approach the Union environment ministry and National Green Tribunal.

As a part of his third phase of Varahi Yatra, the JSP chief visited Erra Matti Dibbalu in Bheemunipatnam and said that such a rare heritage site is present only in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka in Asia.

The Erra Matti Dibbulu was formed naturally 20,000 years ago. The state government should announce a buffer zone around the site and ensure they be protected with fencing, he demanded.

From 1,200 acre, Pawan Kalyan said, the heritage site is now reduced to 292 acre. “Even part of this reduced area is being allotted for real estate ventures and an ashram. This has to be stopped as protecting such rare heritage sites is the responsibility of the state government,” Pawan said. He demanded the intervention of the district collector to save heritage sites from turning to real estate projects.

Terming Erra Matti Dibbalu as a national asset and the area as a sensitive region, he said that the YSRCP is not taking any efforts to protect the site. Further, he pointed out that the state government is not keen on protecting the heritage sites and passing them on to the future generations. “The YSRCP is keen on initiating layouts for the real estate projects. It should stop commercialising government lands. Such violations should be stopped immediately,” he demanded.