Protests to continue till Sharavathi project is scrapped through gazette notification, say activists
SHIVAMOGGA: The protests against the implementation of the Sharavathi Pumped Storage Project (SPSP) will persist until the state government issues an official gazette notification to abandon it, said Maruthi Guruji, chairman of Sharavathi Ulisi Horata Okkuta (North Canara).
Addressing the media at a joint press conference organised by the Okkuta and the Parisarasakkagi Navu on Tuesday, Guruji said the world will thrive if the Western Ghats endure, and nobody has the right to infringe upon nature.
Guruji said the Central government’s decision to suspend the SPSP was a mere facade to distract the people’s attention from the issue.
Brushing aside the claims of the Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) that the SPSP is safe and environment-friendly as misleading, he said the project would necessitate the felling of countless trees.
Guruji also pointed out the contradiction in the government’s actions. He said that while the government receives funding from UNESCO to safeguard the Western Ghats, it simultaneously claims that the water from the Sharavathi River flowing into the Arabian Sea is waste.
“This so-called ‘wastewater’ is vital for the survival of aquatic life. The government has so far received Rs 12,000 crore from UNESCO,” he said.
Former Lokayukta N Santhosh Hegde said the drilling of a 1,600-metre tunnel in the Sharavathi Valley poses a grave threat to the region.