'Don't give permission for UPCL's extension'

The Udupi district Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha demanded that State government should not give permission for the proposed extension of the coal-based Udupi Power Corporation Limited (UPCL).

Forwarding a memorandum to Energy Minister D K Shivakumar, Udupi district Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha General Secretary Jayaram Bhat said the existing UPCL project should be converted into a gas-based project.

He said that if the government gave consent to the extension of the UPCL project, the people and farmers in the region would commit suicide. Bhat said the Company had demanded 700 acres of land in Santoor village and 40 acres of land in Padabettu.

He said the water bodies in the region were already affected by the plant. He said the people in the area were suffering from various health problems.

The government, at any cost, should not give permit for the plant’s extension, he said. As many as four memorandums were submitted to the government on behalf the gram panchayats and Kissan Sangha unit, he added.