From the watch tower, In the view of the silent canopies of the valley

( The silent Valley National Park,in May'07)

As a permanent safeguard against human intervention in the ecologically-sensitive Silent Valley National Park, state government decided to declare areas around the place as a 'buffer zone'.
Areas to be included in the buffer zone would be finalized shortly, Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan told reporters after the cabinet meeting here.

The zone, covering a total area of nearly 148 sq km, has been conceived as a natural safety-ring around Silent Valley tropical forest.

The forest, in 1970s, faced a serious threat of being destroyed by a big hydro-electric power project, which was later shelved in the wake of the country's first successful environmental campaign.

Spanning an area of 89 sq km thick tropical forest in Mannarghat Taluk in Palakkad district, Silent Valley was declared a national park in 1984.

The declaration of buffer zone comes in the wake of environmentalists voicing concern over the move of the state government to revive the Pathrakkadavu hydel project using the waters of Kunthipuzha river, which flows close to the Silent Valley.