Environmentalists in Karnataka’s Shivamogga oppose Sharavathi PSP, urge State govt. to drop the project

Environmentalists gathered in Shivamogga on Sunday to adopt a resolution opposing the Sharavathi Pumped Storage Project, which proposed to generate 2,000 MW of power by spending over ₹10,200 crore.

Many environmentalists attended a public meeting jointly organised by the committee opposing the Sharavathi Pumped Storage Project, Paryavaran Trust, and Rashtriya Swabhiman Andolana in Shivamogga.

The participants stated that the Karnataka Power Corporation Limited has already damaged vast tracts of the Western Ghats. Any further more efforts to damage the biodiversity hotspot would not be tolerated, they said. Instead of the pumped-storage project, the government should consider advanced technologies like battery power storage systems and smart grids, they added.

They urged the State government to drop the project considering the damage it could cause to the Western Ghats.

Environmentalists like B.M. Kumaraswamy, Akhilesh Chipli, and Anant Hegde Ashisara participated in a day-long discussion on burning issues, including the controversial pumped storage project. Mr. Chipli, delivering a special talk on the project, stated that the government’s agencies had already caused enough damage to the Western Ghats in the name of development, and said that such works should not be allowed. He felt that there was no need for the pumped storage project when better alternatives were available to address power requirements.

Mr. Ashisara said that legislators of Honnavara and Bhatkal had already opposed the project. All representatives of Shivamogga and Uttara Kannada districts should take a similar stand and raise their voice in legislative forums against the project, he added.