Raichur: Raichur's skyline is dotted with thermal power plant turbines towers. The towers that spew the remains of burnt coal. But the town that single-handedly supplies 40 per cent of Karnataka's power, stands powerless against power plants.
Besides the 1720 MW that Raichur Thermal Power Station already generates, this region has been marked for at least 3 more power plants. 5840 MW that spells power boom for the state and doom for this rocky town.
Says `Save Raichur' activist Raghavendra Kushtagi: "22,000 metric tonnes of coal are burnt every day. There's a lot of flyash and when it mixes with water it goes into the groundwater, seeps into the river and borewells. It goes around in the air, colours our clothes, and enters our blood stream."
The State government says it has to find solutions to a 25 per cent power deficit.
Says Karnataka's Principal Secretary (Energy) K Jairaj: "Can Raichur bear these projects? The answer is yes. It has abundance in terms of water, land. It is also accessible to coal. Does it have deleterious effects on the environment. I would argue no. They are within the standards prescribed by the pollution control board."
The reality is different.
Promises remain only on paper at the place where effluents from the 1470-MW Raichur thermal power plant are meant to be treated. Machinery doesn't function and water is let off as it is into the Krishna river, from where it is supplied as the main potable water to the city of Raichur - that is 3 lakh people.
Asks Prof Chandrasekharappa, old-time Raichur resident: "Why is Raichur being dumped with so many power plants? People here have been nice. They have put up with this all these years."
But that patience seems to be wearing out, setting the stage for People Power vs Power Plants.