Bantwal: Shamboor Villagers On Indefinite Strike Seeking Justice from A M R Power


News and Pics by Mounesh Vishwakarma
Daijiworld Media Network - Bantwal (RD/CN)

Bantwal, Dec 2: The residents of villages in the neighbourhood of the A M R Power project at Shamboor, near here, began an indefinite strike on Monday December 1 at B C Road. 

They alleged that A M R Power, which came to Shamboor village three years ago, had fooled them with their smooth talk and driven them into the streets by acquiring their agricultural fields. The rural roads are in disrepair owing to the movement of the company’s heavy trucks, they said. 

By using explosives to break boulders while constructing dams, the company has damaged 200 houses in the neighbourhood, accused the residents. High tension cables passing through agricultural fields, mounted on sky-high fabricated towers, endanger the farm lands and have led to a reduction in the market value of the property, they claimed.  They also accused A M R Power of showing bias in awarding compensation for the acquired agricultural properties.

The protestors threatened to be on indefinite strike till they get justice. MLA B Ramanath Rai, taluk panchayat president Chandrahas Shetty Bolantoor, standing committee president Flossy D’Souza, various leaders like K Padmanabha Rai, Manjunath Bhat, Sampath Kumar Shetty, Janardhan Chandtimar, and Satyanarayan Rao, expressed their support for the strike.

The protest was lead by A M R Power Project Santrastara Hitarakshana Vedike convener N Prakash Karant, president Mahabala Poojary, and other office-bearers.  

  

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Comment on this article

  • Vincy, shamboor/Bangkok

    Tue, Dec 02 2008

    I am a native of shamboor and I visit my place for every 2 months . A M R Power Project has ruined the roads to shamboor.The heavy trucks which used for carrying the heavy machines have damaged the road and during the last monsoon the road was completely useless. The basic needs of people were affected and the buses could not operate this route for many days incurring heavy losses for the public and bus operators.

    First the delegation of A M R Power Project approached the villagers who own the land on the river side and called them for a meeting at Hotel in Mangalore. They were lured by offers of compensation for the deal and were paid some money. The villagers expected jobs for the people and developments in the village. In return the Power project made barricades and blocked the access to the river at many places. The real picture was shocking only when the villagers saw Telugu speaking men arrived in trucks and the work started with huge noise every day and night through out last 3 years.

    The power project is a private one and they are not controlled by the sate civic authorities. They have permission from central government to acquire the land, construction a power project and then sell to the highest bidder in the open market. Since the land was sold to them, they become legal owners of the land and thus the locals lose control over it. These kinds of activities will continue now and then through out the country in the name of developments. These power projects also get the construction material, steel and cement at a subsidized price due the nature of the such project to provide employment and growth of the Nation. There were cracks on walls found in many houses including the sacred Heart Church of shamboor due the Heavy dynamite Blasts were made to break the rocks at the Nethravati river site. The utives who were visiting now and then to shamboor never revealed the actual progress or facts of the project. People of Shamboor kept waiting for the good news of jobs and renovation of the road which still remain a dream.

    The excecutives should have called the villagers and explained them about the project and also about the benefits to the people. Instead they used the existing pane-mangalore to shamboor road and have not repaired yet. In the entire process the land used for the project is agricultural land and this will create adverse impact in the long run by shortage of rice and other food products. Hope the present step taken by villagers will make some difference and hope the road will be repaired soon.

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