The Hindu : Karnataka News : Concern over effect on flora, fauna

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Karnataka

Karnataka

Concern over effect on flora, fauna

Special Correspondent

There are several water bodies around Chamalapura
Government has described the region as ‘barren’

Chamalapura (Mysore district): Located 25 km from Mysore, the region around Chamalapura has scores of water bodies which are the lifeline of the arid H.D. Kote taluk in the district.

Situated close to the meeting point of the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, the region is blessed with nature’s bounty. From atop the Malleshwara Betta the contours of the Chamundi Hills are clearly visible. The Kabini flows nearby flanked by Nagarahole and Bandipur national parks. Odavinakatte and Karigala are the two major lakes in the region flush with water despite the onset of summer.

The lush green valley, replete with lakes and ponds, below the Malleshwara Betta, belies the simmering discontent in the region.

The Government has described the region as “barren” and wants to acquire more than 2,000 acres of land to establish a 1,350 MW thermal power plant to be fuelled by charcoal which will be brought from Orissa. Over 150 million tones of coal will be burnt every year and the flyash and other pollutants will be dumped in the water bodies to be called “ash ponds” in future.

Ash ponds

“Both Odavinakatte and Karigala are condemned to become ash ponds as the flyash discharged from the proposed power plant will be dumped here and this will eventually drain into the Kabini which flows further south. This will not only destroy the ecosystem of the region but will pollute the river,” according to U.N. Ravikumar, environmentalist who was among those who briefed the officials of the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) on Thursday. “Ironically, the Union Government has recently sanctioned a drinking water project for Mysore under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. But the river water will become unfit for human consumption,” he said.

Ornithologist K. Manu of the Mysore Amateur Naturalist and Mr. Ravikumar pointed out that the region was a natural breeding and feeding ground for several species of birds as it lay in their migratory path. The project would ring the death knell to hundreds of exotic species of flora and fauna that were endemic to Chamalapura and the surrounding regions, they said.

The KERC team visited the spot to apprise itself of the ground reality and ascertain public opinion about the project. C.H. Vijayashankar, MP, made a plea to the KERC Chairman P.K. Pandey to consider the arguments against the project and give his unbiased opinion to the Government.

Later, at the public hearing he warned of a “Nandigram-type” situation and said people were not against development but the issue was whether it should be done at the cost of environment.

Vivek Cariappa, Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Sudhir Vombatkere of the MGP and local political leaders were present.

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