Claiming that the proposed Mekedatu balancing reservoir project ‘will not cause any serious harm’ to the environment, the Institution of Engineers-India (IEI), Karnataka State Centre plans to organise a session in Bengaluru to discuss various aspects of the project. IEI plans to invite social activist Medha Patkar and actor Chethan Ahimsa, who have opposed the project, to the session.
Medha Patkar argues that the project will have an adverse impact on the environment and has urged the Karnataka Government to drop the project.
IEI State president M. Lakshmana said, “On behalf of the IEI, we will invite Medha Patkar to a session to discuss the project and will explain to her that the impact on the environment is minimal. The project will benefit farmers in Mysuru region besides addressing the drinking water needs of Bengaluru and other districts like Kolar and Chikkaballapur.”
“The project will not displace tribals and the government has committed to providing alternative land to the Forest Department as replacement for the forest that goes into the project,” Mr. Lakshmana said during a discussion in Mysuru on the Mekedatu project on January 18.
