Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (SP)
Udupi, Feb 19: After huge pipes carrying saline water to Udupi Power Corporation Ltd’s (UPCL) plant near Padubidri burst, and salt water gushed out and contaminated hundreds of fields, wells etc., agitated people came together and locked up the pumphouse owned by UPCL in Yermal village on Friday February 18.
The people said that the officials of the company have not been taking their complaints about air, earth, and water contaminations lightly, and the company men always give haughty replies whenever approached with a problem. They said that the response of district administration and the people’s representatives is also disappointing. They came together, asked the workers to go out, and then locked up the pumphouse used for pumping sea water to the plant, and switched off the pump.
The huge pipes carrying sea water for cooling the thermal power plant get ruptured frequently, because of unscientific workmanship, it is alleged.
Yermal Tenka gram panchayat president, Jayashree, vice-president, Kishre Poojary, former president, Satish Salian, taluk panchayat member, Sumana Kishore, other local leaders and several UPCL officials were present.
After the villagers stuck to the stand that they would not budge till the tahisldar came on the scene, tahsildar of the taluk, V Prasanna Kumar, came to the spot, along with the officials of the department of agriculture. After seeing that water of a number of wells was thoroughly contaminated, he instructed officials to collect samples from the wells for testing. He also personally walked by the side of the pipeline and saw that saline water gushing from the pipe had damaged courtyard, well, agricultural fields and the road. He later said that he had conveyed the prevailing situation to the deputy commissioner over phone, and that a solution to the problem will be found by bringing the local gram panchayat and the UPCL together within two to three days. He said that strict action will be taken against the company, if it fails to address the problem.
Even in the past, the department of agriculture had collected water and sand samples from the area and found them to be unfit for agriculture and consumption. But no steps had been taken.