ok. here is the deal.

india's is a country that needs electricity for its growth. no questions about that.

but india is also a country that has millions of people who depend on their environment for their livelihood and life.

a classic case is udupi in coastal karnataka. udupi is a land endowed with rich natural resources on which depend farmers, fishermen and common people.

but for past several years successive governments and policy makers are trying to ram down a highly polluting 1000mw coal power plant and the locals have been fighting this tooth and nail for several years.

it looks like in the last of the year 2006, the govt seemed to have pressurised the local tahsildar to issue an order saying that all land has been acquired.

now the govt is bulldozing full speed ahead with the project.

the project which is a coal power plant seems to be rammed right onto the heads of the local people who fear that pollution from the coal power plant will destroy their local way of living.

ideally, the govt should not work as a middlemen trying to throw out one community and doing things done.

there are several alternatives possible in karnataka like wind power, cutting down on t&d losses, mandatory planned load shedding, mandatory solar water heaters, solar electrical system for residences and software companies in bangalore/other urban areas, etc.

but in name of fake development all the govt does is to act as a brutal middlemen for industries to setup hazardous factories, polluting coal power plants and acquring massive land in name of special economic zones.

the deal should be that the govt acts smartly to educate its wealthy, well to do bangaloreans and urbanites that development should not come at the cost of the pristine coastal areas of karnataka and the people who are enjoying the benefits of development should also come forward to make it sustainable.

it should be the deal to all people instead of smack-in-your-face slap for one section and bounty for other sections.

below are pictures of a protest rally held in august in udupi area. picture courtesy of uduipi police department blog.