By Viju Mangalore - Daijiworld News Network

Mangalore / Dharmasthala, Aug 1: Once a region with natural scenic charm and serenity, Dondole under the Dharmastala Gram Panchayat limits has today is losing its beauty, according to a few villagers.

Thanks to Sagar Power Private Limited which is constructing a dam for setting up hydro-electric power station, a total of 160 houses are facing threat to life and property.

Dondole region is a land of scenic beauty with the Netravati flowing in its mystic elegance. Blessed with abundant flora and fauna, the river bank has been struck by the development bug.

A private power company has found this region an ideal place for setting up a hydro-electric power station and today the project work has resulted in disrupting the serenity of the environs with the rattling sound of machines.

Massive explosions on the river bank have taken away the night's sleep from the eyes of the residents.

Several houses have been unsettled, with some collapsing and some others have developed cracks.

Deekayya Poojary and Krishna Acharya who spoke to Daijiworld narrated a tale of mindless destruction in the region. Major portions of their houses have collapsed.

Over the past 6 months, huge boulders are being blasted using powerful explosives, as a result of which the foundations of the houses in the vicinity have been weakened.

On May 28, 2006 a major explosion caused huge losses to buildings.

It was like an earthquake, says a resident. The cupboards began shaking, vessels started falling off the shelf and those who were sleeping woke up screaming with panic.

The villain of the piece is the Hyderabad-based Sagar Power Project, a private company which planned to set up the power station few years back. However the plan took shape only in May, 2006 when the foundation stone was laid.

The locals do not have any information about the project and have not been taken into confidence. This, along with the threat to life and property, has led to the formation of a committee to fight against the power project.

Under the leadership of the Dharmastala Gram Panchayat president Haridas, the committee has been meeting in the local anaganwadi. Headed by Lokesh Shetty, the residents, with the help of an expert engineer, have assessed the damage to houses and estimated it at Rs 32 lac.

With no assistance coming from any quarter, the residents fight a lone battle.

What awaits DK district is more trouble, according to residents. According to B Nagaraj Shetty, minister-in-charge for the district, 13 such power projects will come up in the district.

Will it be a collective onslaught on the people's right to safe dwelling?

The other side

On the other hand, a few leaders that Daijiworld spoke to said the project was going to be a boon to the region, on the lines of the Neerkallu project promoted by the Bharuka group near Guruvayanakere in the vicinity.

While it is true that there is going to be damage to nature from this project, there are rumours making rounds that the claims of damage put up by some of the residents were not genuine and that it was only a way of squeezing money out of an 'outside' company which would not like to keep the locals unhappy in any case.

It may require the services of experts to check the veracity of both versions.