Karnataka   

Families living in project area in distress

In a fix: Somayya Mulya’s family at Yellur in Udupi district on Saturday.

Yellur: There is little or no change in the condition of the five families living within the compound of the 1,015 MW coal-based Nagarjuna Power Corporation Ltd project site here. All the five families have “patta” (possessors of title deeds) lands within the project site.

Somayya Mulya, one member, said that his family was being pressured to give up its land for the project. The round-the-clock work of the project was affecting the health of his family he added. They had to enter and exit through a gate installed by the company. “Our movements are restricted as the guards appointed by the Nagarjuna Power Corporation Ltd (NPCL) keep quizzing us on our movements,” he said. Mulya has three sons and three daughters. Mallika Multi, his daughter, said that while earlier they had almost three crops a year and vegetables, it had now become difficult for them to work in their fields. They were now buying groceries and other items on credit. “The people from the company are telling us to take the money and leave the land. Despite our pleas, neither the police nor the district administration is bothered about our plight. We cannot sleep peacefully at night, due to the sound of construction work,” she said.

Gopi Poojarti owns four acres of land. There are four women, two men and two children in her house. She said the telephone connection to her house has been disconnected. “I am a widower and suffer from ill health, please help us,” she said. Narsi Poojarti, his 85-year-old mother, said: “I planted coconuts here with my own hands. We want protection.”

Deputy Commissioner P. Hemalatha told The Hindu on Saturday that she would study the issue before making comments about it. “The concerns about these families, known to the administration, have been communicated to the company,” she said.

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