JOIN USLocal residents expressed support for the all-season port project at Tadadi, during a meeting called to elicit public opinion at Hiregutti in the taluk on Monday. The meeting was organised by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board.
The residents raised objections when environmentalists put forth their views on the project. Fishermen and people of various communities were among the thousands of people who took part in the meeting. The residents raised concerns over the illegal shell mafia at Tadadi.
N R N Simha, general manager of the Karnataka State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation, said that a study had been conducted in a 10-km radius of the project site, on its environmental impact. Rajiv Gaonkar, chairman of the Ashrayama Foundation, Hiregutti, said there was a conspiracy to import coal and export manganese behind the plan to build the port.
Local residents stood up and shouted down the environmentalists whenever they spoke at the meeting. Deputy Commissioner Ujjwal Kumar Ghosh asked the residents to give their opinions in writing. The residents said that those who had lost land in the past were yet to get compensation. They said that constructing a port at Tadadi would provide employment to a large number of local residents.