Uttara Kannada district minister Mankal Vaidya
Credit: DH File Photo
Minister of Fisheries Mankal Vaidya said on Monday that he had been opposing the Sharavathi pumped storage ever since it was conceived in 2006-07 and that there’s no change in his stance.
Speaking to reporters here Vaidya, also the district in-charge minister, said, “The project (Sharavathi pumped storage) was conceived in 2006-07. I have been opposing it from day one. I had urged the successive governments to drop the project. Now, the tender process for the project has been set in motion and two public hearings have been completed. Not just the opposition parties, even a section of the ruling Congress is opposing the project. But experts and those who are in favour of the project claim that there won’t be any problem to the district from the project. Let’s see.”
On Bedthi-Varada river linking projects, the minister said, “The people of the district have been sternly opposing the Bedthi-Varada river-linking project for the past two decades. We will not allow river water diversion. The project will not take off,” he said.
On the ongoing controversy surrounding the socio-educational survey, the minister said, “It is not a caste census, but socio-educational survey. Unlike the census conducted by the Union government, our survey is to understand the socio-educational and economic status of the people belonging to different castes. The human resources to conduct the survey, including teachers, are available and the government is keen to complete the survey at the earliest. There’s no point in deferring the survey. It has been decided and what difference does it make if it’s done today or tomorrow,” he questioned.
Replying to a specific query, Vaidya said, “There is no proposal before the state government on merging Siddapur with Sagar taluk (of Shivamogga district).”