Delegation urges Centre to drop projects harmful to Uttara Kannada

New Delhi: A delegation of elected representatives from Uttara Kannada district met Union Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil and Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav here on Monday and urged them to drop the Bedti-Varada river-linking and the Sharavathi pumped storage projects proposed in the district.

The team included Uttara Kannada Lok Sabha member Vishweshwara Hegde Kageri, Fisheries Minister Mankal Vaidya, MLAs Bhimanna Naik and Shivaram Hebbar, MLC Shantharam Siddi, environmentalist Ananth Hegde Ashisara and others.

The delegation also met Union Steel Minister H D Kumaraswamy, Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi and Minister of State for Railways V Somanna.

In a memorandum submitted to the ministers, the delegation urged them that the Centre should not proceed with the projects, stating that these would be disastrous for the district.

They highlighted that several projects had already been implemented in the district and new ones would further damage its ecology.

The team demanded that the Centre study the district’s bearing capacity before approving new projects.

“The union ministers assured us that no major projects harming the ecology of Uttara Kannada district will be implemented. We asked them to impress upon the state government not to propose locations in the district for new projects,” Kageri told reporters.

He said, “We were able to convince the union ministers. We hope the projects will not be forced on the people of the district”.