Hundreds of people from Kanaparthy, where the Generation Corporation(GENCO) proposes to set up a 8 x 500 MW thermal power plant, swarmed the collectorate on Wednesday and resolved to get ready for a ‘do-or-die' battle to stall the project.
“We will not rest till the project is scrapped,'' asserted Genco Vyatirekha Porata Sangham (GVPS) president P. Veeraiah Chowdary while leading the protest, close on the heels of the State government filing a counter affidavit in the High court in support of the project on Tuesday.
“We cannot expect the ruling Congress MPs and MLAs to come to our rescue any longer with the State government's intentions clear in its counter affidavit. We will have to get ready for more stirs on the lines of Sompeta and Kakarapalli to stop the project at any cost,'' the GVPS leader said.
“We will have to conduct agitation in a peaceful and democratic manner and join hands with the like-minded activists fighting against the large number of power plants in the coastal region,'' Mr Chowdhary said.
The GVPS is part of the National Alliance of People's Movement(NAPM) being led by noted social activist Medha Patkar.
Telugu Desam Party Ongole constituency in-charge E Haribabu, Communist Party of India district secretary M Venkaiah, CPI(ML) New Democracy leader Ch Venkateswarulu, and Lok Satta Party district president Ramesh Reddy joined the protest and expressed their solidarity with the protestors, whose fertile wetlands to an extent of 2,800 acres would be acquired for the power plant.
Mr Justice L. Narasimha Reddy of the High Court had ordered status quo on March 16 regarding further proceedings pertaining to acquisition of agricultural wet lands for the proposed thermal power plant in Naguluppalapadu mandal.
The protestors, who raised slogans against the proposed power project, which would add to carbon dioxide emissions significantly and cause irreparable damage to the environment, submitted a memorandum to Joint Collector P Lakshminarasimhum.
