SIDDU-MODI BHAI BHAI!
KARNATAKA CHIEF MINISTER SIDDARAMAIAH HAD CALLED PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI A ‘MASS MURDERER’ IN THE RUN-UP TO THE LAST LOK SABHA ELECTION. THE GOVERNMENTS HEADED BY THE SWORN POLITICAL ENEMIES NOW HAVE A CONVERGENCE OF VIEWSTO CHOP DOWN 50,000 TREES IN THE WESTERN GHATS. ALREADY 4,000 TREES ARE AXED IN KODAGU. WITH BOTH LEADERS COMING TOGETHER, IS THERE ANY ESCPAE FOR THE PEOPLE OF KODAGU?
Though Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah and prime minister Narendra Modi belong to different sides of the political spectrum, both the Union government and the Karnataka government are agreed on going ahead with the high tension power project in Kodagu.
The project involves cutting down of 50,000 trees in the fragile Western Ghats, identified by the UNESCO as a sensitive bio-diversity hotspot with rich fauna and flora.
Col C P Muthanna, president of Coorg Wildlife Society, said that so far, nearly 4,000 trees in the district had been axed for the project.
Both Union power minister Piyush Goyal and Karnataka energy minister D.K. Shivakumar have gone on record to say there is no stopping the project.
In a letter addressed to Mysuru-Kodagu MP Prathap Simha on December 12, Piyush Goyal stated there was no going back on the project.
Shivakumar has gone on record to say: “There is tremendous pressure from the Centre to accomplish the project and it is more important from the energy security of the state in future. It helps us draw more and more power in a short duration time from the generating stations of Tamil Nadu.”
Meanwhile, Melkote MLA and Karnataka State Farmers Association president K S Puttannaiah told reporters on Tuesday that protests were planned in various parts of the state, including Bengaluru, to oppose the felling of 50,000 trees to supply power to Kerala.