Pejavar seer announces 'fasting protest' against UPCL; Scribes' tempo meets with accident

Swamiji has also announced to observe one meal a day fasting, to show his concern for the affected people and share their sufferings, from Saturday.

He was speaking at the interaction programme between the environmental experts, activists, journalists and the representatives of UPCL, held at Srikrishna Balaniketana, Kukkikatte, near here on Tuesday evening.

It is to be noted here that ill effects of the coal based power plant had resulted in water in the local wells turning saline, due to the discharge of water, released after cooling the boilers. In addition to that the bottom ash stored in a natural lake turned open ash pond, has been creating havoc in the life of the families residing in the area.

Speaking at the interaction programme environmentalist Ashok Kundapur took the UPCL to task for not feeling sorry in spite of causing health and environmental hazards and not rectifying the same to safeguard the interests of the people.

Environment expert Dr NA Madhyastha warned that abuse of nature would be retracted immediately, as it happened on Japan. He said that as the area beneath the Western Ghats, is very sensitive, abuse of fertile area in and around project site would surely result in disaster of some sort.

On the occasion, Jayakrishna Shetty of Jayashreekrishna Parisara Samithi confessed to have worked as the agent of Nagarjuna and Lanco, but took the present UPCL management to task for their gross negligence affecting the people. “It is fit case for filing an FIR against UPCL. It should be kicked out from the district”, Shetty added.

Activist Vidya Dinkar objected to UPCL producing power without a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) approved by the KERC. “They are selling the power in black to the Karnataka government. State government and the District-in-charge Minister Dr VS Acharya may in collusion with the company'', she accused. Vidya also demanded the company to make public the Environment Impact Assessment Report.

Replying to the queries Vice President (Operations) of UPCL Kishore Alva and its COO Raveendran agreed to have caused some nuisance and said that everything had been set right a week back.

Accident

As per the decision of the meeting all the members decided to visit the project site immediately to have a first hand report of the situation in the site. Although Pejawar Swamiji reached the ash pond site, the programme got cancelled as two of the tempo travelers, in which journalists were visiting the site, met with an accident by colliding each other. In the incident, environmentalist Ashok Kundapur and some of the journalists and cameramen got hurt. After the incident Swamiji, Kishore Alva and others returned from the site postponing the visit to Wednesday.