London, Nov 5 (PTI) The UK-Kerala Business Forum and Friends of Kerala MPs have urged the Kerala government to take immediate action to mitigate the damage caused to the Western Ghats mountain range, leading to recurrent floods in the State since 2016.

The forum is submitting a memorandum to the Chief Minister of Kerala to take action to bring the Western Ghats to their former splendour.

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Virendra Sharma MP, the Patron of UK-Kerala Business Forum, who is also the Chair of the Indo-British All Party Parliamentary Group, said: "Acting on climate change is not an option it is a necessity. For far too long we have treated the planet as an obstacle to be overcome, we are reaping the fruits of that behaviour."

"Preserving the best of our environment has to be our immediate aim. Kerala is a beautiful place we must do our best to keep it that way for our children and generations to come, so they can see the natural splendour of the place too," Sharma said.

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The Western Ghats, a mountain range extending through India's west coast, play a major part in the climate of Kerala. It influences Kerala's weather patterns by intercepting the moisture-laden monsoon winds that sweep in from the Southwest during late summer.

The front end of the Western Ghats is in the southern part of Kerala. The monsoon used to hit Kerala on the first week of June, then slowly move to Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra in an orderly and predictable fashion, controlled by this thick lush green mountain range.

Due to deforestation, the effective strength of the Western Ghats has lessened, causing erratic and unpredictable patterns to monsoon rains.

Successive governments in Kerala authorised construction projects, including several tourism projects, and allowed deforestation on a massive scale in this area. Munnar, a popular holiday destination in the Idukki district of Kerala, alone has about 1,000 hotels.

"The beauty of Kerala is renowned around the world, and I made an unforgettable visit to the hills of Kerala myself. The state is deeply vulnerable to climate change. As world leaders meet in Glasgow to hammer out a global response, I hope there will be an effective response to the environmental challenges from the state authorities too," said Stephen Timms, the MP for East Ham who has close links with the Malayalee community.

Scottish National Party MP Martyn Day, who supported and raised funds to the Kerala Chief Minister's Relief Fund following the worst flood in 2018, said: "Deforestation is something which we all must play our part in tackling".

"Tree planting for the future is a very positive step to take as Scotland has demonstrated in recent years and I would encourage all nations to do more," Day said.

The memorandum also urged the Kerala government to put pressure on neighbouring state governments to stop all construction projects in all parts of the Western Ghats, including the proposed railway line project approved by the State of Karnataka.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)