Mangaluru: The National Green Tribunal, Southern Zone, Chennai, will conduct its seventh hearing on a petition filed by Purushtottam Chitrapur, the Deputy Mayor of Mangaluru against the Yettinahole project on September 28. The petition has been filed on behalf of the Karavali Jeevanadi–Nethravati Rakshana Samiti, Mangaluru. The samiti is headed by K. Vijaya Kumar Shetty, former MLA of erstwhile Surathkal constituency.
Vice-president of the samiti M.G. Hegde spoke to press persons on Thursday. He said that the tribunal had admitted the petition filed on February 2, 2015 on February 10, 2015. Since then it had held six sittings. He said the green tribunal was petitioned as the water allocation or appropriation becuase it was their jurisdiction.He also said that the need of the hour was to rise above “trivial political issues and gains” and join hands to stop the project. He indicated that there would be a Bengaluru-Mangaluru National highway bandh at Uppinangady and the samithi would participate in it.
S.G. Mayya, a former professor at the Department of Applied Mechanics and Hydraulics, National Institute of Technology – Karnataka, Surathkal said that the project would be a “technical disaster”. He said the water yield of 24Tmc water has been calculated based on faulty rainfall data. One government agency has estimated the rainfall in the catchment at 4,880 mm while another government agency has estimated it at 6,280 mm. Mr. Mayya said that only 8 tmcft of water could be available in the Yettinahole catchment area.
Mr. Hegde demanded that the government convene an interactive meeting by September 25 to clear all doubts on the issue as the people are very much agitated.
