The Hindu : Karnataka News : Kodasalli: displaced people stage rasta roko

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Friday, Jun 19, 2009
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Karnataka

Karnataka

Kodasalli: displaced people stage rasta roko

Correspondent

State Government accused of making false promises

Forum seeks land ownership rights to the affected people
Members of the forum to continue their protest

Karwar: The people displaced by the Kodasalli hydroelectric project staged a rasta roko in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office here on Thursday.

Some of them have been on a relay hunger strike in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office for the past six days. Condemning the attitude of the Government, the president of the Kodasalli Evacuees Forum, Shivaram Gaonkar, said that it had only made false promises to those who had given up their homes and property for the project. Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd. (KPCL) authorities had failed to fulfil their demands, he said.

Mr. Gaonkar said among the forum’s immediate demands were ownership rights for the land occupied by the displaced people, drinking water supply, and a job in KPCL for one member of each of the evacuated families. The compensation should be time-bound, acceptable to both the parties and distributed under the supervision of a Lok Adalat, he said.

Among their other demands are the re-laying of the road between Gullapur village and the evacuee colony at Halavalli, free electricity, completion of buildings left half-constructed, a storehouse for agricultural produce, and the immediate completion of the hanging bridge and road to Shivapur colony.

Mr. Gaonkar said that they would continue their protest till the Government and KPCL fulfilled their demands.

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