Nalin Kumar Kateel, MP, and activists opposing the Yettinahole diversion project have threatened to go on an indefinite hunger strike here from February 11 if the State government did not take a decision to stop the project during the five-day legislature session from February 6.
The strike will be held under aegis of the Netravathi Rakshana Samyukta Samiti.
Talking to presspersons here on Tursday, Mr. Nalin said the State government was going ahead with the project by sidelining concerns over the non-availability of water and damage to the eco-sensitive Western Ghats.
The meeting with activists recently convened by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was inconclusive as officials failed to clearly answer queries raised by the activists. The MP said that if activists were arrested then the Government would pay dearly for it.
Vijaykumar Shetty, former MLA, who is president of the samiti said the recent meeting by the Chief Minister was just a symbolic one to meet the legal requirement that the project promoters wanted. It was still not late for the State government to stop the project considering its impact on the Western Ghats.
“The State government stopped mining in Kudremukh. Pipes laid for Yettinahole project can still be removed. The adamant attitude of the State government is not good,” he said.
Activist Harikrishna Bantwal said Chief Minister and the legislators from Dakshina Kannada are talking aloud on protecting kambala, a race of buffaloes in slushy fields. But how could kambala be held without water, he wondered.
“Kambalas are held more in areas lying on the river banks. The Netravathi needs to be protected for survival of kambla,” he said.
Mr. Kateel and other activists earlier garlanded statues of Mahatma Gandhi and B.R. Ambedkar in front of the Town Hall.
Elaborate security arrangements had been made to prevent activists from carrying out flash protests during the Republic Day celebrations at the Nehru Maidan.
