Write Comment     |     E-Mail To a Friend     |     Facebook     |     Twitter     |     Print

Udupi : Residents of Kukkehalli surrounding  areas of Kambalmajalu, Punchur, Cholebettu and Cherkadi grama Panchayat Bayerbettu staged a dharna in front of Kukkehalli Grama Panchayat office near here on Monday, 19^th March, 2018.

Residents are demanding the closure of a Kohinoor Fish Processing unit that the water polluted and contaminated in almost all water wells which not suitable to drink, they said.

Kasturi Shetty, homemaker, said that there were two wells belonging to the Kukkehalli Gram Panchayat which these wells had got polluted due to release of effluents from the processing unit. Most of the residents surrounding of this fish processing unit are get effected in health and not able to live in peaceful and we get fear of our life.

Susheela Naik, resident said that though the residents of these areas had brought the notice of gram panchayat and even to higher officials, no action was being taken to solve the problem of contamination of drinking water. Even while during the cleaning the utensils, we can find like grease on the utensils. Such water, how can one drink, she asks?

Another resident Sanjeev Naik, said that there were about 80 houses in these areas. The effluents from the unit got mixed into the nearby Madisal rivulet and polluting the areas downstream. The residents had been brought the notice of Gram Panchayat, District administration, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board and other officials, but no action had been taken. We are in difficulty and we need solution at the earliest, she said.

The said fish processing unit existed since 9 years. There were several protests held here before. But there was no action from any departments. Both major political parties like Congress and BJP were not interested in the matter. Hence, we are planning to boycott the forthcoming elections, one of the leader said during the protest.

During the protest meet, Srilatha Shetty,  State President of All Karnataka Nelajala Parisara Sourakshana Vedike, Udaykumar Shetty State Treasurer, Ananth Naik, District Marathi Sangh President, Sanjeev Naik Cholebettu, Kukkehalli, Marathi leader, Ramachadra Bhat, Punchur Grama, Nithyanand Shetty, District leader of AKNJPSV and other among were present.