Protesters want Bedti-Aghanashini project scrapped, seek conservation plan for Western Ghats rivers

Hundreds of people gathered at Freedom Park on Saturday, October 11, to protest the proposed Bedti-Aghanashini river-linking project, urging the government to abandon the plan in the interest of the Western Ghats and Uttara Kannada district.Organised under the banner "Save Western Ghats, Protect Uttara Kannada" by the Bedti-Aghanashini Valley Conservation Committee, the protest drew people from Uttara Kannada living in Bengaluru. The gathering adopted 11 resolutions demanding the immediate scrapping of the proposed Bedti-Aghanashini river projects and suspension of the DPR process for the Bedti-Varada link. They also called for a sustainable conservation plan for the 22 major rivers originating in the Western Ghats and their basins. They also urged that the Bedti, Aghanashini and Shalmala valleys be protected, and that the government come up with non-destructive irrigation methods for farmers in Uttara Kannada district.Citing the Yettinahole project, Ramachandra questioned the rationale behind large-scale river diversion schemes. He said the focus should instead be on local water conservation, forest regeneration and restoration of lakes and ponds.Former Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde, environmentalist AN Yellappa Reddy, Sirsi-Siddapur MLA Bhimanna Naik, IISc scientist TV Ramachandra, Adamya Chetana trustee Tejaswini Ananthkumar, Havyaka Mahasabha president Giridhar Kaje and writer Jayant Kaikini were among those who participated.Justice Hegde said no committee had been constituted to comprehensively examine the project and its implications. Reddy urged the government to assess the ecological consequences and submit a detailed report. He questioned the logic of protecting people in one region at the cost of the environment and livelihoods of those in another, and expressed concern over the condition of the Kali river.Tejasvini Ananthkumar said people of Uttara Kannada had fought to protect their rivers and environment for nearly four decades. She warned that the government could move ahead once the Detailed Project Report (DPR) was prepared, and urged people to intensify opposition before the project reached implementation. Kaikini said his opposition was rooted in environmental concern, not politics. Altering the natural course of the Bedti and Aghanashini could threaten people dependent on their banks, he argued. "We do not belong to the Earth; we are part of it," he said.Naik said the Centre and the State should have sought the views of local residents before taking the project to the DPR stage. He noted that the rivers already face shortages in years of poor rainfall, while areas such as Sirsi face drought-like conditions. He demanded that the DPR process be suspended immediately and a suitable committee formed.