Udupi: Nagarjuna Effluents Playing with Villagers Lives Again
News and pics: Chethan Padubidri
Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (SP)
Udupi, Jul 21: The villagers residing in the villages near the thermal power plant of Udupi Power Corporation Ltd (UPCL - erstwhile Nagarjuna), say that their agricultural activities have been severely affected because of the hot, salty water and effluents mixed with coal dust being released by UPCL. Their anger has further been aggravated by the fact that a public road was washed away because of unscientific pipeline works executed by the company on Tuesday July 20.
A stretch of the public road located behind Tenka Yermal gram panchayat was washed away on Tuesday suddenly. The locals say that the road has become a victim of unscientific pipeline laying work executed by UPCL there. The farmers are frustrated at the loss they have been made to suffer because of hot, saline water, and effluents being discharged by UPCL plant into the canals that lead to their agricultural fields in Admar, Ulloor and Padebettu villages. In addition, the mud heaped at the spot where UPCL is constructing a pump house relating to its pipeline in Tenka Yermal, gets mixed with water, blocks the canals and gets deposited on their fields, robbing them of the chance to earn livelihood through agricultural activities, the villagers allege.
A few villagers who were interviewed, said that an earlier complaint lodged by them with the district administration, has not been acted upon. They say they have become helpless, as the government, policemen and district administration are siding with UPCL. They complain that the destruction of public road as above has compelled them to take a detour to reach their homes. After they received several such complaints, Tenka Yermal gram panchayat president, Jayashree Poojarti, and panchayat secretary, visited the spot on Tuesday and inspected the damage.
The panchayat had in the past, issued a notice to UPCL, seeking a compensation of Rs 1.20 lac towards the damage caused by it to the taluk panchayat road adjacent to the company’s pump house project. Although the panchayat had threatened to seek legal recourse in case of failure to pay compensation as demanded, the company it is said, has chosen to ignore the notice so far.