Will Arrange Meeting with CM on Yettinahole – DC
Mangaluru: The district administration held a meeting in connection to the district bundh announced by the Netravathi Rakshana Samyukta Samiti on May 19, at the DC office here, on May 17.
Addressing the gathering, Deputy Commissioner A B Ibrahim said that the bundh will not get any results, instead, the public will suffer. “If the activists still want to call for a bundh, they should take the responsibility that there will not be any untoward incidents take place.”
Responding to this, the president of the Netravathi Rakshana Samyukta Samiti Vijaykumar Shetty said that it is not the decision of NRSS but the people of the district, who are aware of the dangers due to the continuation of the Yettinahole project.
“As we are already facing severe water crisis, most hotels have been closed down, students staying in hostels have been sent back to their hometown, there is no water in the hospitals and patients are being sent back home within a day of admission. Hotels are not functioning as there is no water for cooking. The people of DK are suffering without water and at this point, the political leaders from this district should think of the citizens and convince the chief minister to drop the project,” he added.
“Congress leaders held a meeting to discuss the Yettinahole project on the day of Vijayadashami and since most of the NRSS members are involved in temple activities, they were busy to attend the meeting. We also requested them to postpone the meeting and contacted M V Patil about this but he asked us to inform minister Ramanath Rai. Finally, we requested Oscar Fernandes to postpone the meeting and not cancel it.”
Vijay Kumar further said that the people of DK are aware that the project will not serve its purpose and are hence opposing it. “Some of the elected representatives and higher officials are benefiting from the project. They are greedy and determined to complete the project so that they can make money. If the Yettinahole project will not harm DK, why send the students staying in hostels back to their hometown? Why are hotels closing their shutters? Why are hospitals sending patients back within a day? Why there is water scarcity in the district? If we will not act now, our future generations will be in danger and the administration and the leaders will be cursed.”
He also said that even if the CM calls for a meeting in Bengaluru, the NRSS is ready to attend the meeting anytime anywhere. “It is the duty of the politicians to convince the CM because the CM is not a technical person to know about the project. There is no transparency about the project and the elected representatives are not explaining it to him in detail.”
M G Hegde said, “From the past 36 years, I have been staying in Mangaluru but this is the first time that I have seen this kind of water scarcity. Students from our hostels are being sent back to their hometowns. If such situation continues, DK district will also be known as a drought affected district. The situation in Kolar it is a man-made disaster and the people of Kolar are challenging us that they will water from our district.” “How can we sit quietly?” he questioned.
When CM was in town last month, and if the district administration would have given us 5 minutes to talk to the CM, we would have convinced him but we were not given a chance to meet him, he added.
Rahim Uchil said that if the DC understands the problems of the people of DK, he should convince the government to stop the project. “We are observing the bundh to protest against the project.”
Commenting on the issue, SP Dr Sharanappa said, “We are the mediators between the government and the people and it is our duty to solve the problems of the people.”
In response to the SP’s statement, Vijaya Kumar Shetty said, “If you think that you are the mediator, then you have failed to perform your duty.”
Police commissioner Chandra Sekhar said, “Protesting is a right in a democratic society. But while holding a protest or bundh, the leaders should ensure that there will not be any untoward incidents.”
The DC concluded saying that he would have a word with the CM on holding a meeting regarding the project. DCP Shantharaj, ACPs, police inspectors, ADC Kumar and others were also present.
