K'taka: Agitation on thermal plant intensified

Padubidre (Karnataka), June 23: The Nagarjuna Virodhi Horata Samiti (NVHS), spearheading the protest against the proposed 1015 MW coal-based thermal power project here for environmental concerns, today threatened to intensify its agitation, even as the Karnataka Government announced several concessions for the project yesterday.

Briefing newspersons here, NVHS Executive Committee President Vijay Kumar Hegde said, the Samiti had decided to launch 'No More Nagarjuna' agitation with active support from the public and politicians, irrespective of political affiliations from the three coastal districts, besides support from other parts of the State.

He said as a first step, the Samiti had decided to submit a memorandum to the district in-charge Minister Dr V S Acharya, urging him to prevail upon the Government not to force the project on district, despite strong opposition from the public.

They sought initiation of action against officials who are responsible for forcible acquisition of private lands, threatening and illegal felling of trees. He warned that if the Minister failed to respond, the Samiti would launch an indefinite dharna in front of his residence in Udupi from next week.

The Samiti had also decided to prevent vehicles engaged in the project work from entering the project site. It would also take up collecting objection letters from lakhs of people against the project and submit it to the Government, he added.

The Samiti was already in the process of filing cases, seeking legal action against the Tahsildar concerned, police officials, Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) official Ms Vijayakumari Shenoy and NPCL officials for their alleged goondaism on the locals, causing insult to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe people and encroachment of private wells.

Mr Vinaykumar Sorke, former MP and member of the Samiti, said the Samiti had planned to launch 'Vidhana Soudha chalo' to prevent the project and act on report submitted by the delegation which had visited a thermal plant in Andhra Pradesh.

UNI