Spoiling all hopes projected by grand events organised to mark the Environmental day on Tuesday, about 50 mangrove trees were found destroyed on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake at Asramam alongside the Link Road on Wednesday.

The act was clearly mindless activity of the officials, while conducting a pre-monsoon cleaning of a culvert that leads to the lake.The trees belonging to endangered species including Ceriops tagal, Excoecaria indica, Sonneratia caseolaris and Aegiceras corniculatum were the destroyed, said a statement by the Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad(KSSP), which demanded action against the offenders.

President Pratibha Devisingh Patil has called for developing Ashtamudi Lake as an international tourism destination incorporating all principles of sustainable and responsible tourism.

KOLLAM: Tests conducted by the material testing laboratory at the TKM College of Engineering here have found that sand mined from Ashtamudi Lake is unfit for construction because of its high saline content.

Contractors in the district have been rampantly using sand mined from the lake for building works.

KANNUR: Kattampally wetland area in Kannur district, known for its migratory bird sanctuary, is likely to be included in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance.