Gorur villagers' concerns unfounded: Ramanagar DC

Ramanagar Deputy Commissioner, F R Jamadar, on Friday tried to sell Gorur villagers the proposed garbage-processing unit, suggesting that they were “unnecessarily” worrying about the project and were unaware of its “benefits” and facts.

The unit will be of international standard and help spur development in Ramanagar district, he claimed. In no way will it harm the environment or cause pollution as the villagers fear, Jamadar told reporters after Gorur residents protested against the survey of the land for the project.

The decision to set up the unit was taken after a scientific study, Jamadar said. “Satarem India, the company implementing the project, has purchased 45 acres of land at Gorur and requested us to conduct a survey. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, at a high-level meeting on October 22, had directed the district administration to complete the survey at the earliest,” Jamadar said, justifying the conduct of the survey in a haste.
“Besides, the district administration has to abide by the High Court order. Hence, the survey was done on 32 acres of land.”

Replying to a query about the violence during the survey, the official said: “The district administration did not commit any atrocity against the local residents. The villagers themselves burnt tyres, obstructed the survey officers and took law into their own hands. They also assaulted a deputy tahsildar, a survey officer and some policemen. Hence, the police had to resort to cane them to control the situation.”

According to the deputy commissioner, Mandur and Gorur could not be compared. The problem at the Mandur landfill site is quite different, he claimed, adding that the district administration has directed the company to raise awareness among local residents in this regard.

However, Nelamangala MLA K Srinivasamurthy and MLC E Krishnappa have condemned the “atrocities” against the villagers. “The district administration and police connived with each other and held a meeting at a dhaba. They committed atrocities against the villagers. The police acted as a stooge of the Congress party. We will never allow the government to set up the unit at Gorur,” Srinivasamurthy said.

Krishnappa suspected that Energy and district in-charge minister D K Shivakumar had a “vested interested” and that’s why was “hell-bent” on setting up the unit.
DH News Service