Mangalore: In a protest meeting organized by Sahyadri Samrakshana Sanchaya in association with Tulunad Paksha and several environmental safety organizations represented by their leaders at DCO grounds on Jan.10 morning urged DK district people to beaver of dangers facing the flow of Netravati river from Yettinhole in Western Ghats all the way down to Mangalore old harbor in view of the attempts of state Govt. and some congress MPs of the state to divert these waters at this worse from Yettinahole towards Mandya, Mysore, Chikka Ballapur up to Kolar, although such a proposition is unnatural and un becoming of some Mysore politicians in the present state Govt.

Several speakers such as Dr. Niranjan Rai, Harikrisna Punarur, Suresh Shetty, Yogish Shetty and many others explained the tactics of ruling politicians to threaten the people of DK to cough up their votes for congress in the next Loksabha elections or to make them congress vote banks.

The Netravati River and its subsidiary currents of water from Yettinahole down to Mangalore old harbor is the life line of people, forest areas, animals and bird’s flora and fauna of Western Ghats will be destroyed by diverting the water and river flows by pipes and tunnels towards the east from a west word direction by engineers. This devastating work on a large scale cannot be thought of or allowed by the people of DK who have voted certain legislators to the Vidhana Sabha and certain others to the Loksabha, who have turned against them and become enemies of a super fine ecology. These legislators and parliamentarians of the state are not listening to the out cries of common people who voted them to power these representatives of the people have failed to protect the ecology of Western Ghats and the coastal region under them.

It is our duty now to either recall them or not to elect them again if they did not listen to people who want Netravati River and its natural flow to themselves undisturbed by political plots to continue in power by the present representatives.

It was M Veerappa Moily who as CM had promised in 1993-94 that Netravati River will be protected as the asset of DK people and will not be diverted at Yettinahole towards Mandya but now as MP of Chikka Ballapur who is also a union minister, he tends to support those who are seeking the diversion of our life line towards old Mysore. This step the speaker said will not be approved by the local people at any cost and Netravati River shall be protected by our selves, even at the cost of the politicians in power now.

The ecology of Western Ghats is unique and protected by United Nations and its outfits as a world heritage. Such a life giving water flow from those Ghats to the coastal people cannot be squandered by the pipelines at Yettinahole that divert a natural system.

The protesters vowed to continue their agitation until the state Govt. gives up the attempt to divert Netravati flows.
Dinesh Pai, Kishore, P V Mohan, Dinesh Shetty, T R Bhat, Giridhar Kamath, Raghava, Dinesh Holla nad several others were present at the protest meeting which took place at DCO gates on Jan.10.