Neutrino in elephant's way

A proposed observatory in Nilgiri forests threatens to disturb wildlife movement

 

In early 2000, a team of scientists gathered at the Saha Institute of Nuclear in Kolkata and decided to revive research on neutrinos, tiny elemental particles that can pass through almost all matter unhindered. A flurry of meetings followed culminating in a project called India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO), touted as the biggest and most ambitious experiment on particle physics in India. This has generated much enthusiasm among physicists, for though neutrinos are one of the fundamental particles that make up the universe, they are least understood. There are only a handful of observatories in the world carrying out experiments on neutrinos.

Environmental activists and conservationists, however, are apprehensive about the multi-crore-rupees project because it is proposed to come up in the middle of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR), a 5,520 sq km of contiguous protected forest at a tri-junction of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

They fear constructing the observatory will disrupt elephant corridors and add more population to the area, leading to its ecological degradation. A joint committee of the Department of Atomic Energy and the Department of Science and Technology handling the INO project, however, claims adequate measures will be taken to protect the environment.

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