Activists take out jatha to oppose Sharavathi Pumped Storage Project in Shivamogga

Activists of Parisarakkagi Naavu, a forum for the environment, and Rashtrabhaktara Balaga took out a jatha in Shivamogga city on Thursday opposing the Sharavathi Pumped Storage Project. Scores of people joined the jatha riding bicycles and two-wheelers that was flagged off at Allama Prabhu Park and covered prominent areas of the city and concluded at the Deputy Commissioner’s office.

The protesters maintained that the proposed Sharavathi PSP, designed to generate 2,000 MW of power by connecting the two dams through an underground pipeline, would cause severe damage to the Western Ghats, a biodiversity hotspot, besides harming the rare flora and the fauna in the area. The place, where the project would come up, had been known for the lion-tailed macaque, an endangered species.