Yashodhar Bangera
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SP)
Mangalore, Apr 30: Information relating to the proposed ultra mega thermal power plant at Niddodi is coming out after efforts were made to get these details through Right to Information Act. It has come to light that in an important meeting held last year, it was planned to conduct pollution audit of Udupi Power Corporation Ltd, so that this report could be used to support setting up of power plant at Niddodi.
File Photo
At a meeting held at the auditorium of Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd at Bangalore on May 17 last year, it was decided to audit the level of pollution created by UPCL plant with the specific aim of addressing the doubts and apprehensions arising in the minds of the people. This meeting was attended, among others, by officials of Central Electricity Authority and Power Finance Corporation, who had visited Niddodi to undertake inspection, chief secretary in the department of energy, and other officials.
It is said that the government had specifically planned to get a pollution audit, with details of air and water pollution caused by UPCL project, through Indian Institute of Technology or Indian Institute of Science, for satisfying people who have been resisting implementation of this project. Power Company of Karnataka Ltd was asked to write to one of these institutions to conduct an audit and file a report thereof. The study, it was decided, was to also cover the aspect relating to meeting of all the conditions of corporate social responsibility.
The central government team, which had visited the proposed site at Niddodi on May 16, had visited UPCL the same day. After visiting both the venues, the team filed its report in Bangalore the next day.
The skeletons falling out of Niddodi project’s cupboard have been giving rise to a sense of apprehension in the minds of the people, particularly so because of the tearing hurry with which the government plans to execute the project, the fact that the state government has made up its mind to commission this project, and the efforts of the concerned including people’s representatives, to conceal facts and give false promises. The people have lost their faith on repeated promises of the political leaders. It is not known whether the government will yield to the pressure of the people who are opposed to this project or not.
Kemar Swamiji opposes Niddodi project
In the meantime, Esha Vittaladasa Swamiji of Kemar Sandeepani Ashram has vehemently opposed this project. ‘It is wrong on the part of the government to try to impose projects that have the potential to destroy the ecological and environmental balance of the district, without studying the carrying capacity of the environment here. If the concerned are not prepared to shed their adamant attitude to implement this project, the district might witness a revolution of sorts against this unreasonable stand,’ he warned.
Reacting to the letter written by state chief minister, Siddaramaiah, to union energy minister, Jyotiraditya Scindia about the plant, the Swamiji called upon the religious leaders, heads of different Maths, and political parties from the state’s coast to sink their differences to join the movement aimed at resisting this project.
He has asked the leaders of the action committee opposing the project to carry out its task meticulously and with a sense of urgency, duly calling upon the media to steadfastly support this agitation. Noting that the district of late is losing its water resources at a fast pace because of various projects, he warned that the lives of the people might turn miserable if such projects continue to get imposed on the coast.
Asking all the people to shed their lethargy and come together for this purpose, he has called upon the people’s representatives, who have so far whiled away precious time in doling out unreliable promises to the people, to work to prevent Niddodi project from getting executed.