Farmers, leaders demand permanent closure of UPCL

Bellevision Media Network

Mudarangadi, Udupi, 22 March 2011: There is no option other than permanent closure of the coal-based thermal project run by UPCL, as it is proven that the project will annihilate crops and vegetation, besides causing health problems to thousands of villagers, said Kodihalli Chandrashekar, president of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) at Mudarangadi.

 

He was addressing the villagers of Mudarangadi and Santhur and other villages near theUPCL project, at the St Francis Church Yard on Sunday evening. Kodihalli said: "UPCL (former Nagarjuna) is a special gift bestowed on the people of Udupi by former PM H D Deve Gowda to annihilate the human beings from here. We thought BJP leaders like V S Acharya who fought against the setting up of power projects a decade ago, would understand the problem. But when he became minister, he forget the people’s plight and has turned out to be a strong advocate for UPCL."

 

 

Kodihalli said farmers and KRRS activists and members would no longer wait for their speeches. The land and environment belong to the locals and if anybody ruins it, the people won’t keep quite, he said. He said their ultimate aim is the closure of UPCL.

 

He said the farmers’ response to the KRRS call is very good and over 10,000 members have already enrolled in the KRRS units in Paubidri, Padabettu, Yermal, Palimar. More units are being set up at Inna, Mundkur, Belman, Kaup and other places shortly.

 

Rev Father Lewis D’Sa, parish priest of St Francis Church, Mudarangadi, Rev Father Samule Soans, priest of St Luke Protestant Church also lauded the efforts of the KRRS.

 

Vijayakumar Hegde, KRRS Udupi district president spoke on the occasion. Kodihalli also inaugurated the new unit of KRRS at Mudirangady, which is headed by Nithin Shetty.

- TNN