here is an update on the hubli ankola western ghats line.

this railway line that is nearly about 200 kms long will destroy around 1000 hectares of pristine evergreen western ghats forests.

from the link,
Mr. Velu clarified that the issue of giving clearance to Hubli-Ankola railway line was before the Supreme Court's Empowerment Committee. Asked why the work had been stopped when the Empowerment Committee had not given a stay, the Minister said the work in forest areas could not be undertaken unless a clearance was obtained from the committee.

On why the work on the project in the non-forest area had also been stopped, Trilok Nath Perti, General Manager of South Western Railway, clarified that unless the entire project got the clearance, even work in non-forest areas could not be continued.

this railway line mainly to carry the iron ore from the eastern side of karnataka (in bellary district where illegal mining is rampant) onto the ports for export to china.

this railway line will serve the purpose of plundering bellary and in 20/30 years when the indiscriminate mining depletes everything the railway line will stand mute testimony of the destruction it has wrought upon the ghats.

in name of development we count the dollar/rupee amounts of iron ore exports but not the huge environmental, social and human costs of it.

what does governments in india do when faced with protests over destructive projects. very simple. buy time. twist facts. talk about the 'need of development' and finally brutalise the people and push the project.

the karnataka govt is at first step. it has suspended (for one week) the nagarjuna thermal project. meanwhile, the legislators of the region will go on a study tour(!!) to simhadri thermal power plant in vizag.

okay. how is the situation in simhadri. not so good as per hindu articles. the local villagers seems to have taken a huge hit by pollution and worst they have not even been compensated for their lands that was acquired. the fly ash ponds are overflowing and the dirt and soot and heated water from the plant in simhadri has killed the fish in the nearby sea region.

when it comes to developedment, one thing is clear: do all tricks of the trade and fool the people.

below is the picture from flickr which shows the majestic yangztee river taking a direct hit from the pollution of the coal fire plant in background. as per the report, you can hardly spot any fish in the river with water quality not even worth mentioning.

looks like we want to give this poisionous development to udupi area very soon.

Downtoearth is india's premier magazine and a reputed forthnightly dealing with crucial
environmental issues.

in the latest issue (Nov 15, 2006), they had send me coupons for discounted subscription for my friends.

couple of days back, i sent a mail to several of their id's namely editor@downtoearth.org.in, downtoearth@downtoearth.org.in, subscribe@downtoearth.org.in

but i got no reply. shouldn't a prestigious magazine be prompt in answering the email queries. probably i have to try calling them.