Mangaluru: A group of environmental activists were detained by the police in the city on Friday after they staged a black-flag demonstration and tried to gherao union law minister DV Sadanada Gowda, who has reaffirmed his commitment to the Yettinahole river diversion project despite strong opposition to it in his home district.
Mr Gowda was in the city to inaugurate Students' Bar Council at SDM College of Law. When he reached the college gate several activists from Sahyadri Samrakshana Sanchaya and Nethravati Ulisi Horata Samiti that have been raising their voice against the controversial project, waved him black flags and started raising slogans against him.
When the activists tried to gherao the union minister, the police swung into action and arrested them. The arrested include Dinesh Holla, convener of Sahyadri Samrakshana Sanchaya, Punik, Shashidhar Shetty, Harish, George among others. However all of them were released after being taken to Barke Police Station.
Speaking to reporters on the occasion, Mr Gowda said that he was not ready to oppose Yettinahole Integrated Drinking Water Project, as according to him it was designed to quench the thirst of nearly seven million people in drought-prone Kolar, Chickballapur, Ramanagaram, Tumakuru, Bengaluru Rural, and Hassan districts.
Admitting that it was he who showed green signal to the project during his tenure as the chief minister of Karnataka amidst widespread opposition from in Dakshina Kannada district and strong warning from environmentalists, Mr Gowda said that a CM must think of entire state and not one particular district.
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