Mangaluru : Sahyadri Sanchaya, a group of environmentalists, has called upon the people to opt for NOTA (None Of The Above) in the upcoming Panchayat elections, to oppose the Yettinahole project.

Activist Dinesh Holla, who addressed reporters in Mangaluru on Wednesday, said that both, the Congress and the BJP, had been trying to make fools of the people by carrying out political facades. “Although the BJP took a delegation to the Union ministers, the response has not been favourable. Moreover, some BJP leaders are batting for implementation of the Yettinahole project, claiming it to be a brainchild of their party. If the leaders from both parties are really concerned about the people whom they represent, they must take to the streets and protest against the project,” he challenged.

Dinesh Holla added that the Sahyadri Sanchaya will field a candidate in the next Assembly elections, as an effort towards voicing the anguish of the people.

Another activist Shashidhar Shetty criticised that present-day leaders like Veerappa Moily and D V Sadananda Gowda had been visiting Dakshina Kannada without much publicity and their names had not been mentioned in the invitations of the programmes in which they take part. “The moves are taken so that the public – especially the environmental activists – are not aware of or do not notice them coming to and leaving the city. This indicates that the leaders are afraid of facing people’s ire. It also displays their sense of guilt regarding the blunder that they had committed – during their respective tenures – in connection with the Yettinahole project,” said Shetty.

He further said that the voice of the people of the district is not being voiced on the floor of Assembly, by the elected representatives of Dakshina Kannada. “When the legislator of Nippani can raise the issues of concern in the constituency, why can’t the MLAs from the district do so?” he questioned. Activist Kateel Dinesh Pai was present at the press meet.