Mangalore: Anti-gas pipeline committee opposes acquisition of agricultural land


Meryick D'Silva
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (MD)

Mangalore, Jul 8: "For more than a decade, I have been living next to a gas pipeline. There are many people who are against the pipeline because there are no safety measures and no compensation will be provided," said Krishna Prasad Rai, coordinator, anti-gas pipeline committee, during a press meet here on Tuesday July 8.

“There are many gas pipeline companies who are acquiring the land of agriculturists. In one place, in a hilly area, one pipeline is hanging due to a landslide and we had informed the officials concerned two months ago but they never checked or responded. Some companies are providing only 10 percent compensation which is not enough and is an injustice. The land the pipeline goes through belongs to poor agriculturists and is in the hands of the pipeline companies,” said Krishna Prasad.

He also kept a question in front of the media, “Why do gas pipeline companies want agricultural land?”

“I am happy that in 2013, Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa asked the Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) to stop all works on the 310-km Kochi-Bangalore gas pipeline project in Tamil Nadu and return the land already used for the project to farmers and land owners. This case is in the Supreme Court now,” said Prasad.

"The Land Acquisition Act of 2013 says that full compensation must be provided but these gas companies like HPCL, MHP, and GAIL are busy making money. There are major problems in installing the pipeline. One is quality, which is not at all good in India because the pipe will get rusted very soon especially due to external laying of the pipeline. Since most of the pipelines have been laid in landslide prone areas, it will lead to leakage of gas,” added Prasad.

Talking about the incident where an East Godavari pipeline exploded, he said, “If in case, the Government and the gas companies fail to give an answer to the farmers of the East Godavari district pipeline explosion incident, then Dakshina Kannada district will not allow installation of any kind of pipeline here.

“In DK district, Mangalore, Bantwal, and in Beltangady, HPCL pipelines are installed through 32 villages, GAIL pipeline through Mangalore-Cochin-Bangalore, and in various other areas pipelines are passing along residences, schools, temples and other places of worship,” said Prasad.

Baby Shetty Kavala Padur, Ibrahim Malali, Sampath Kumar Shetty Ammunje, and Sujir Kumar Shetty Kandavara were present.

  

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Comment on this article

  • yogesh, bombay

    Thu, Jul 10 2014

    But the big question is will our Siddu act firmly like Jaya?

    DisAgree Agree [2] Reply Report Abuse

  • manimaran, gudiyattam

    Wed, Jul 09 2014

    development?do you mean development at the death of farmers?it is really the development of big industrialists who are ruling the country in the background,not the development of nation.

    DisAgree [2] Agree [4] Reply Report Abuse

  • Mann, bangalore

    Wed, Jul 09 2014

    G.A.B., Angelore

    Govt. must change the method of acquiring land from the present to :
    First compensate for land that is needed, at market value, before project work starts.
    This will help the Govt. to acquire land with much ease than present system where compensation never reaches the owners of the land...
    and puts the land owner to various hardships.

    DisAgree [1] Agree [4] Reply Report Abuse

  • Vinit D, Mangalore

    Wed, Jul 09 2014

    I am sure if this gas pipeline was to be laid in your compound you would not have talked this way. Remember for the country to progress we need to have a lot of infrastructure. And this infrastructure can be built without treading on someone else's toes. For example why should hey have a highway pass through densly populated areas?. Nidodi plant, Why should it be .there?. There are hundereds of square miles of arid lands in other places of karnataka waiting to be developed. Why cannot it be located there?.
    And gas pipeline. People are asking for safety and compensation and nothing else. When the share prices of these companies are increasing because of these newly developed infrastructure bought at peanut rates the companies should also think of the unfortunate people who have to pay heavy sacrifice's for the nation's so called progress.

    DisAgree Agree [6] Reply Report Abuse

  • Mann, bangalore

    Wed, Jul 09 2014

    Arid land - scarcity of water. Water is very important for a project like Niddodi. Nearby seawater is used after desalination. That is why Yettinahole project to divert water inland for power generation and also supply of water until Bangalore rural.
    If we keep opposing taking over of land for development, then people should not blame Govt. for not doing any thing to improve electricity supply, water supply,roads etc.
    What people should fight\make the Govt. is to give immediate compensation at market value and alternative land\houses to the displaced.
    This is not done by the Govt. as the vested interest in Govt. delay compensation for years together to fill their pockets. This should be seriously looked into and straightened out. Until then these kind of opposition will be there forever.
    @Vinit D. Mangalore.

    DisAgree [3] Agree [2] Reply Report Abuse

  • R.Bhandarkar, M'lore

    Wed, Jul 09 2014

    Krishna Prasad Rai, "Coordinator, Anti-Gas Pipeline Committee."
    I mean the designations are so fanciful that they catch your eye.
    Some Westerner coming across it for the first time will surely be in awe thinking it to be an equivalent of a Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and the like.

    DisAgree [2] Agree [3] Reply Report Abuse

  • Jossey Saldanha, Mapusa

    Wed, Jul 09 2014

    All Gas like our FEKU ...

    DisAgree Agree [1] Reply Report Abuse

  • Ronnie, Kinnigoli/Canada

    Wed, Jul 09 2014

    In simple it is a no to gas pipeline in Dakshina Kannada. No to Niddodi thermal power project. No to Nandikur power project. No to widening of Highways. No to everything. What a irony! Yet we aspire to be a modern and prosperous nation. Somewhere between a fifth to a third of the million students graduating out of India's engineering colleges run the risk of being unemployed. Others will take jobs well below their technical qualifications in a market where there are few jobs for India's overflowing technical talent pool. Opposition to everything will lead to anarchy and joblessness. Think about it seriously.

    DisAgree [6] Agree [6] Reply Report Abuse

  • George A. Borromeo, Angelore, Mangalore, India

    Wed, Jul 09 2014

    Ronny any opposition from Human Power is countered by Money Power and at last Muscle Power. Few People take advantage of Money and few succumb to Muscle Power. Funniest part is that Politicians do Fishing in Troubled waters. take advantage of

    DisAgree Agree [1] Reply Report Abuse

  • Jossey Saldanha, Mapusa

    Wed, Jul 09 2014

    By opposing these pipe lines you guys are throttling development.
    You can always negotiate for a better compensation ...

    DisAgree [12] Agree [10] Reply Report Abuse

  • Ashwin, mangalore

    Wed, Jul 09 2014

    @Jossey - If they don't fight now, then they will be looking at a future accident like that Godavari thing. We all know the investigation will find no fault of gas companies and things will be as usual. No one will remember the 20-30 people who dies. There is no safety mechanism in place to handle such issues. Isnt it the responsibility of this companies or is it the farmers responsibility? Please answer!!! Don't think you would have kept quite if the pipeline went through your land without any safety mechanism or compensation? Atleast if they protest and get higher compensation, then they can go somewhere else, otherwise no one will remember them, like the millions displaced by other projects (who remembers them, not me, not u and not the govt). Only if they protest, they have some chance of getting better compensation, we will put messages here on this board, but no one from us will go and help them get better compensation. Sad but true, this is the whole white truth.

    DisAgree [1] Agree [11] Reply Report Abuse


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