Kerala - Kozhikode   

Draw line for power project through forests, say farmers

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 and cultivated fields in Wayanad had triggered strong protests by farmers.

Addressing a press conference here, they warned that similar protests would be taken out in Kozhikode 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 the 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.

The Power-line Peeditha Pora 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 has come out in support of the demand of the Powerline Peeditha Poura Samithi of Thiruvambady. "Our agitation has become necessary because the focus has been only on the financial loss to the Government and the company engaged in executing the power project on account of the agitation," Fr. Kozhuvanal and Bose Jacob said.

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