Manipal : The Udupi district unit of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha  observed a hunger strike in front of the Udupi DC office at Rajathadri in Manipal on August 27, Monday to protest against the commencement of the second unit of UPCL thermal plant and also to demand early solution to the various problems confronting the people residing in the vicinity of the plant. The Sangha has set September 10 as the deadline to solve all the problems arising due to the plant, or else threatened to forcibly shut down the plant.

Vijaykumar Hegde, District President of the Sangha, who spoke on the occasion, said the state government which was backing the project should be blamed for the problems posed by the project. He accused the district administration of cheating locals by supporting the project.

He demanded that the government should take all the environment safety measures and also set right the problems faced by the people in the area before commissioning the second unit.

Raitha Sangha Secretary Shashidhar Shetty, Christa Okkoota President Prashanth Jathanna, Jamath–E–Islami Hind youth wing president Hussain Kodi Bengre and others took part in the protest