Uppinangady: More than 5,000 protesters gathered on the Mangaluru-Bengaluru highway, near Hotel Adithya to protest against the Yettinahole river diversion project here, on September 15.
The protest was organized under the leadership of Dr Niranjan Rai-Convener of Anti Nethravati River Diversion Action Committee.
The protest rally started from opposite the Uppinangady church. The Sahyadri Sanchaya, Tulunada Rakshana Vedike, Raitha Sangha, students from various colleges joined the protest. The procession will culminate at the Mahalingeshwara Temple.
Addressing the protesters, Dr Niranjan said that the Yettinahole river diversion project should be dropped. “We will not allow the government to play with the lives of the people of Dakshina Kannada. If the project will not be stopped, we will intensify our protest in the coming days,” he warned.
Vajradehi Mutt Sri Rajashekaranda Swamiji said that all the people from DK should join hands to stop this project from continuing. The government should understand the sentiments of the people before arriving at any conclusion.
MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, District Youth Congress President Mithun Rai, Sharan Pumpwell, Dinakar Shetty, Dinesh Holla, M G Hegde, Avinand and many other activists from Mangaluru also participated in the protest. All the protesters were arrested by the police and later released.