Netravathi Rakshana Samyukta Samithi, an action committee to save the Netravathi, here on Monday urged B. Ramanath Rai, Minister in-charge of Dakshina Kannada and Minister for Forests, Environment and Ecology, to resign as the samithi alleged that he has failed to impress upon the government to drop the Yettinahole or Netravathi diversion project.
Addressing the protesters in front of the office of Deputy Commissioner, president of the samithi Vijaya Kumar Shetty said that Mr. Rai should resign as he, Mr. Shetty alleged, has failed to protect the interests of Dakshina Kannada people.
Mr. Shetty alleged that the government has changed the name of the project twice — from Netravathi project to flood diversion project and now, the Yettinahole integrated water supply project.
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He said that the Netravathi would be in danger as the government has, under the project, proposed to build eight weirs across the tributaries of the river. Though the councils of the Daskhina Kannada Zilla Panchayat and the Mangaluru City Corporation have passed resolutions against the project, the government has shown least respect to them.
CM unyielding
Mr. Shetty alleged that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Mr. Rai and Minister for Water Resources M.B. Patil and some bureaucrats were stubborn and ensured that the project went on at any cost.
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Seer of Odiyoor Mutt Gurudevananda and seer of Gurupura Vajradehi Mutt Rajashekarananda said that the days were not far when people from Dakshina Kannada would be forced to lay a siege to the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru as the government was not responding to their demands. They said that it [laying a siege] would become inevitable.