Karwar, January 24: As the sit-in dharna by the residents living within the 5-km radius of the Kaiga Generating Station (KGS) entered 50th day on Monday, the protesters blocked the blocked the National Highway 17 in Karwar for half an hour.
The residents of the villagers of Hartuga, Balemane, Haruru, Balase, Kuchegar, and Sulageri are staging a dharna in front of the Deputy Commissioner's office in Karwar for 50 days demanding the takeover of their villages by the Nuclear Power Corporation authorities.
On Monday, the protesters resorted to rasta roko and blocked the National Highway 17 for more than 30 minutes. They alleged that the district in-charge Minister Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri failed to visit them during the last seven weeks.
Shantaram Nayak, district secretary of Karnataka Pranta Raitha Sangha, warned that if Mr. Kageri failed to turn up, then they would meet him at the police parade ground on the Republic Day.
The agitators in a memorandum said the villages falling within the 5-km radius of the KGS were deprived of basic amenities such as roads and hospitals. The residents would be the first victims in the event of any disaster in the nuclear stations. Hence, the Government should take over these villages and shift the residents to distant places. They must be given adequate land, compensation, and jobs to make up for the loss, the memorandum said.
The vehicles on the National Highway were diverted by the police to avoid inconvenience to the commuters.
Inkanglo Jameer, Deputy Commissioner, arrived at the spot and spoke to the agitators.
Accepting the memorandum, she said she had written to the Government about their problems. She said efforts would be made to address their grievances. Following her assurances, the rasta roko had been withdrawn.
Vishnu Naik, Shyamanath Naik, Yamuna Gaonkar, Santosh Gowda, and Vishnu of Pranta Raitha Sangha addressed the agitators.
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