thumb_up 96

COMMENTS

There is one cardinal truth - land is not increasing but population is and demand will always exceed supply. When population increases, it not only puts pressure on land, but on all resources connected with needs (and greed) of people. Knowing that the twain shall never meet, we need to have a rational approach when addressing the challenges. On the one hand we demand that governement provides its citizens basic neccessities like water, shelter , power and other services, yet on the other we resist every effort that the government makes in meeting just those very demands. Is there a meeting point somewhere? I believe there is, and that can come about only when we engage with the powers that be, in a rational, open and constructive manner. There will be no perfect solution, because there are inherent contradictions in solution itself. The alternate is litigation and litigation and more litigation, all of which does not help any one, The biggest destroyer of environment and ecology is the citizen himself. He destroys for his own personal benefit. The Government at least pretends it is doing for public interest at large. To make sure that stated public interest is kept in mind, we have got to have a working arrangement with the authorities. I am not a defendant of government, neither do I defend the notion that development can take place in a vaccuum. There has to be a rational approach, where something will be gained and something will be lost..

Whereas I am equally apalled at the prospect of valuable  tree cover being lost in Bangalore, and Lalbagh being encroached is equally upsetting, but there has to be a solution to the problem as we see it. Taking hard lines will mean nothing and it will lead us no where. Now the High Court has given its decision and we are questioning that. as well?  Where does this all lead to? CJI may have given a statement, which is perfectly appropriate, but it is not a judicial order. It is his personal opinion as indeed it is of most of us.

• thumb_up 21 Likes
• · login or register to post comments

First,

Hydel projects are a must in our state. Infact, they average a plant load factor of 35% and produce cheap power at Rs. 1.10 - Rs. 2 a unit. Thermal from Bellary for example costs Rs. 2.3 or more a unit.

Hydel projects DO NOT emit carbondioxide

Second, there will not be any large scale upset of forest land unlike the Three Gorges Dam project of China or even the Sardar Sarovar dam in Gujarat.

Third, the land occupied by Hydel Projects is very small and does not upset any sort of ecological imbalance in the western ghats.

Unfortunately the greens in India and the greens on this forum are prone to knee jerk environmentalism. They find it necessary to have cars and space for cars but can be arm chair environmentalists without understanding ABC of the power sector or the implementation of Hydel projects.

I welcome the Gundia project. It is a necessary project. Infact the benefits are more so because in the peak June, July, August season, we can sell our surplus power to Punjab and other northern states and we receive the same back during peak summer months for us.

• thumb_up 26 Likes
• · login or register to post comments

Cadambi Avare,

Comments are free but facts are sacred.

I will definitely support Mr.Cadambi's Gundia only if he ensures that there is a semblance of saving of scarce electricity that is being misused even during day time when the glorious light of solar rays are available around us.

I request you to go and stand near the statue of Kaveri at about 11 am (front of Kaveri Bhavan in Mysore Bank Square - I have a photo of this blatant misuse of power for lighting purpose by a service provider and would not mind uploading it if I could get your mail ID), look up to the floors of Bescom office where hundreds of tube lights will be burning even though their wide windows will be open for allowing bright light.   Agreed, not all of us are Sarvagnaas but some pose as if they are and hide behind a facade of ignorance of facts.  

Green warriors will continue their fight to save the planet earth and men from Mars will destroy the delicate fabric of earth.

I oppose destruction of verdant forest land that gets submerged with Gundia and I also oppose Bescom office misusing their own raw material even during day time for lighting purpose.

- Vasanth Mysoremath

• thumb_up 30 Likes
• · login or register to post comments

I don't claim to be an expert on the power sector, but here is my take on this:

1.) Vasanth about power wastage by bescom - it is all about paying the right prices. Only an effecient pricing mechanism can automatically control this. But this is a different topic. Bescom is not involved in Gundia, it is KPTCL

2.) Political opposition - it is a well know fact that the vocal minority and empty vessels oppose any move by the BJP - so enough said on this regard. Empty vessels make more noise anyway.

3.)  Forest land - even "savannah" type flat land like the ones we see in "maidan" land in Hassan are sometimes classified as forests. The classification "forest" is more of an umberella term.

The Gundia project is not located in any sensitive ecological area like Silent Valey or in Tiger territory. It does not affect elephant migration or any other species migration.

The Greens in India are very unscientific in their assessments. They do not have any moderate middle ground and / or an open mind.

It is common sense (or perhaps not) that Hydel power does not emit any greenhouse gases. Yet, our people like Medha Patkar need publicity for their mysterious causes! Nothing but a bunch of narcissists like Prakash Karat and co.

• thumb_up 33 Likes
• · login or register to post comments

Murali Sir

Some more hot news - Karnataka Renewable Energy Dev Corpn. Ltd., http://www.kredl.nic.in / http://www.mnes.nic.in  has so far sanctioned a total 128 private players to set up Small Hydro Electric Power Generation projects mostly in the virgin/verdant western Ghats of Karnataka- are under various stages of construction/implementation with untold ecological disaster; 

- These 128 projects are supposed to feed about 643.16 MW of power to the power grid. 

- Whether clearances from various controlling authorities or whether  implementation of such projects are violative of existing judicial orders are not clear and an RTI application may throw enough light on these projects.

- Gundia Project inauguration fiasco: A private TV channel has aired real time interviews from 'green peace' protestors - " we were not allowed to reach the inauguration spot to air our peaceful protestations - our vehicles were stopped midway by authorities - we were taken to a choultry in a nearby village, kept their till the function was over and later were released"  

- Another version: an influential politician has an existing Government licensed Small Hydro Electric Power Project in that area that is likely to be get submerged by the backwaters of Gundia storage reservoir. He is creating this chaos along with some others who have their own vested interests due to submergence.

- No asker, No teller - dance of demonic disasters.

-Vasanthkumar Mysoremath

• thumb_up 20 Likes
• · login or register to post comments