Even as the Supreme Court has categorically stated that there will be no compromise in protecting vital forest resources, an elected body has directed the Public Works Department to carry out road laying work through pristine forests of Brahmagiri and Pushpagiri in Kodagu district. Kodagu Zilla Panchayat, in violation of the Apex Court directive, has asked the PWD to proceed with road work through these two eco-sensitive forests. Dire consequences The Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF), Madikeri, in a communication dated 11 December, 2008 addressed to the Conservator of Forests and Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and the Deputy Conservator of Forests, Kodagu Circle, Madikeri has said that the local MLA and the Zilla Panchayat members have threatened the Forest personnel with dire consequences if they tried to obstruct the road construction through the sensitive evergreen forests of Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary. The letter says that the district magistrate and the police authorities have been directed to arrest and initiate legal action against any Forest staff obstructing the work inside the sanctuary. According to the deputy conservator of forests, his attempt to explain that the project attracts the provisions of the Forest Conservation Act, Wildlife Act and the Supreme Court order, met with a curt reply by the members that they know law and be permitted to proceed with road construction. Sources said that work on a road that will dissect the Pushpagiri Sanctuary and endanger wildlife has already commenced, in violation of the Supreme Court orders. The eco-value Brahmagiri is a wildlife sanctuary with dense closed canopy forest and is a home to several rivers and waterfalls. Rich with amphibian diversity, the forest has been springing surprises with several discoveries of species. Considered as the Amazon of Karnataka and connecting Shiradi ghats with Shisila, it is a corridor for elephants and an abode of hundreds of birds, mammals and reptiles. Pushpagiri is an ecologically sensitive region and a significant patch adjoining Brahmagiri.