The Hindu

Udupi, Nov 26: President of the Nagarjuna Virodhi Horata Samiti Pramod Madhwaraj said on Friday that the samiti would not hold any talks with the State Government until survey work for the 1,015 MW coal-based Nagarjuna Power Project, which is going on at Yellur in Udupi district, was stopped.

Addressing presspersons here, Madhwaraj, who is also the president of Dakshina Kannada Mogaveera Mahajana Sangha, said that Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy had met Sri Vishwesha Tirtha Swamiji of Pejawar Math in Bangalore recently.

Kumaraswamy had assured the seer that the survey work would be stopped. In spite of this, the survey work was continuing. By not initiating any action, the Government was closing all doors for negotiations, he said.

If the Government persisted with its stand, the samiti would intensify its agitation, he added. The samiti, which has representatives from fishermen community, farmers' groups and environmental groups, held a meeting at Uchila in Udupi district on Thursday.

It decided to divide Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts into four zones— Mangalore, Kaup, Malpe and Byndoor— to create awareness about the "ill effects" of the power project.

The samiti had discussed the possibilities of holding "national highway bandh" and "Nandikur chalo" agitations.