Belgaum: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah plans to hold a meeting with scientists and experts in the field of power generation as well as officials of the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) soon after Dasara to find a solution to the ongoing protests against the Kudgi Super Thermal Power Project (KSTPP).
Disclosing this to agitators, who are on an indefinite strike at Mutagi near the Kudgi project, water resources minister, M B Patil, said energy minister, D K Shivakumar, Bagalkot district minister, S R Patil and all MLAs of Bijapur and Bagalkot districts would attend the meeting.
Revealing that farmers’ leader, Puttannaiah too had agreed to participate in the talks, he said the farmers would have to abide by the decision taken by the Chief Minister after the brainstorming on the future of the KSTPP.
“We are hoping that the meeting will clear all hurdles in the way of the mega power project,” he added. Bijapur district Raitha Sangha leader, Sidramappa Ranjanagi, however, took strong objection to the government's “hasty” moves to implement the project. “The farmers are prepared to launch an intensive agitation to ensure that this anti-environment project is never implemented,” he asserted, recalling that NTPC officer , Satya Bhama had recently admitted the project posed a 0.2 per cent threat to the environment.
Launched by former Chief Minister, B S Yeddyurappa, the KSTPP has not even entered its first phase of construction thanks to the ongoing agitations across Bijapur and Bagalkot districts against it.
