Neelakurinji facing threat from unregulated tourism, infra expansion: report

The Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (JNTBGRI), Kerala has submitted a report before the National Green Tribunal stating that Strobilanthes kunthiana popularly known as Neelakurinji, an endemic shrub seen in the Western Ghats, is under threat from factors that include unregulated tourism and infrastructure expansion.

The Principal Bench of the tribunal in New Delhi had taken suo motu cognisance of the report “Neelkurinji becomes a ‘threatened species’, officially” published in The Hindu. It had directed the authorities of JNTBGRI to submit a report on the status and conservation of the purplish flowering shrub, which blooms once in 12 years.