Kerala - Kozhikode   

Call to draw power line through forests

Special Correspondent

KOZHIKODE: Farmers' organisations in Kozhikode have demanded steps to take the power lines for the 400-kV Mysore-Arecode project through forest land so that cultivated fields would not be damaged.

Infam national general secretary Antony Kozhuvanal and Bose Jacob, chairman, `Power-line peeditha poura samithi' (committee of citizens persecuted by power lines), said drawing of power-lines through inhabited areas and cultivated fields in Wayanad had triggered strong protests by farmers.

Addressing a press conference here, they warned that similar protests would be taken up in Kozhikode and other parts of the State if power-lines for the project were drawn through populated and cultivated lands.

They presented a map showing how power-lines for this project of Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd, connecting North Kerala to the national power grid, could be taken from forests in Wayanad through Arecode in Malappuram district without causing damage to crops and farmlands.

Appeal

The Power-line Peeditha Poura Samithi has appealed to the Government to ensure that the lines are drawn only through forestland in the Thiruvambady Assembly constituency.

The Farmers Relief Forum held protests in Wayanad on the issue has come out in support of the demand of the Powerline Peeditha Poura Samithi of Thiruvambady.

Agitation necessary

Though Power Grid Corporation officials have claimed that the farmers would be compensated for the loss they suffered, Infam and other organisations alleged that the damages would not adequate."Our agitation has become necessary.

"We say so because the focus has been only on the financial loss incurred by the the Government and the company engaged in executing the power project.

No thought has been given to the hardship caused to the farmers of the region due to the project,"Fr. Kozhuvanal and Bose Jacob said.

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