The Congress got a taste of public anger over the proposed 4,000 MW Ultra Mega Thermal Plant in the state on Monday, when angry residents of Niddodi waved slippers and brooms and threw stones at a party team seeking to survey the region.
Efforts by the AICC team led by P V Mohan to convince the agitators that they were from the Congress and not an official team from New Delhi came to nought. When Mohan told the crowd that he had been sent by Union Minister Oscar Fernandes just to seek their opinion, they demanded proof.
Mohan tried to duck the situation by stating that Fernandes was in Parliament. The crowd asked him to call Fernandes and to Mohan’s dismay, the cell phone was switched off.
The team, which had taken along a media entrouge, but had not informed locals about their objective, had to return empty handed.
Locals even stoned the vehicle which ferried reporters and the team. Kallamundkur GP President Joachim Koreya was at the receiving end of public ire as he had made a symbolic visit to the hunger strike on Sunday. Mohan was forced to take a truth test in order to convince residents about their sincere intention. He tried to convince them that he would report on the opposition surrounding the project to central government. The crowd urged the team members to prevail upon the CM over the need to scrap the project.