Karnataka   

Samiti members observe fast against thermal power project

Protest: Members of the Nandikur Janajagriti Samiti participating in the “Anna Satyagraha” at Yellur in Udupi district on Sunday.

Yellur (Udupi district): Members of the Nandikur Janajagriti Samiti observed a fast (“Anna Satyagraha”) in front of the entrance to the project site of the 1,015 MW coal-based Nagarjuna Thermal Power Project here on Sunday, to protest against its implementation as they felt that it would harm the environment, and to focus on the plight of nine families living in the project site area.

Speaking on the occasion, Ishavittaladas Swamiji of Kemar said that the Nagarjuna Power Corporation Ltd. (NPCL) should not restrict the movement of the nine families living within its project site.

They should be allowed free entry and exit from the site. “The company should remove the gates installed by it”, he said.

The seer said that he did not support the implementation of the Special Economic Zone, near Mangalore.

He said plans were on to develop the Kodachadri Hill ranges near Kollur in Udupi district, which would effect the environment.

A Kodachadri Samrakshana Trust had been formed to protect the environment there. Human beings should not become greedy and claim the sole right to live on earth. Environmental concerns could not be brushed away, the swamiji said. Priest of Santhur Church Samuel J. Soans said that he was supporting the struggle against the project as it would have grave impact on the environment.

Political parties and organisations fighting against the NPCL should do so as a single entity. They should keep their political differences aside while fighting for a public cause.

The NPCL had no right to control the movement of the nine families living in the project site. The district administration should be made aware of the problems faced by these families. “Restricting the movement of people is the height of atrocity,” he said.

President of the executive committee of the samiti Vijaykumar Hegde said the NPCL should stop work at the project site as it had not obtained licence from the gram panchayats, where its project was coming up.

It should remove the fence set up by it around the project site. It should give a relief of Rs. 15 lakh to the families living within the project site. The families affected by the project would narrate their problems to the Deputy Commissioner in Udupi on December 4, he said.

Manorama Madhwaraj, MP; the former MLA Lalaji Mendan; founder-president of the samiti Balakrishna Shetty; president of Dakshina Kannada Mogaveera Mahajana Sangha Pramod Madhwaraj, were present.

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