Residents of Talakalale fear displacement again due to Sharavathi pumped storage project
Shivamogga: Residents of Talakalale in Sagar taluk, Shivamogga district, are once again facing the threat of displacement, this time due to the proposed ₹8,644 crore Sharavathi Pumped Storage Hydropower Project. The very families whose forefathers were displaced five decades ago by the construction of the Talakalale dam now fear losing their homes, land, and livelihoods all over again.
The project, set to be established in the Simha Balda Singalika Wildlife Sanctuary, aims to generate 2,000 megawatts of power using water from the Talakalale and Gerusoppa reservoirs. If completed, it would be the largest pumped storage project in India. However, for local communities, it has become a source of growing anxiety.
Villagers from Henni, Marathi Camp, Gundibailu, and Jadagallu, located within the sanctuary limits, have reportedly received eviction notices. These areas had become a refuge for many who were earlier displaced by the Talakalale dam.
A team led by the Sagar sub-divisional officer has already begun identifying properties for acquisition. Around 12 homes in Marathi Camp and Gundibailu are being targeted. According to local officials, the National Wildlife Board gave in-principle approval for the project in its 84th Standing Committee meeting held in New Delhi under the chairmanship of Union Forest Minister Bhupender Yadav. Subsequently, three formal notices have been served to residents.
Local opposition and demands for fair compensation
During a public meeting convened by Sagar MLA Gopalakrishna Belur, villagers expressed serious concerns about the inadequacy of the proposed compensation. Many farmers demanded that compensation be based on crop value rather than mere land area.
Santosh, a resident of Marathi Camp and one of the affected farmers, said, “I have over 500 areca nut trees. If compensation is calculated based on yield, I should be getting nearly ₹2 crore. But officials say this is forest land and we won’t get that much.”
He added that if the government cannot even provide jobs or alternative housing for 11 displaced families in a project worth thousands of crores, then the state’s promise rings hollow. Residents are demanding scientific compensation that includes housing, employment for their children, and protection of existing agricultural land and homes.
Manjunath, another resident, pointed out that the government was not giving them accurate information. “We pay taxes and have title deeds. Still, we are being told to vacate. Eleven households have already received notices,” he said.
Shivanand, the son of Santosh and an SSLC graduate, added that due to financial difficulties, he had to discontinue his education. “We are losing the property built by our ancestors. At night, we can’t even sleep peacefully. Officials have started marking trees around our homes.”
MLA assures employment but fails to convince
MLA Gopalakrishna Belur stated that only around 8 acres of land belonging to local people would be used for the project and that minimal damage would be caused to private property. He assured that affected families would be offered jobs in the Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL). However, villagers remain unconvinced, saying they will pursue legal action if their demands are not met.
Environmentalists raise alarm over forest destruction
Environmental groups and activists have also strongly opposed the project. The Singalika Wildlife Sanctuary is home to over 700 lion-tailed macaques, a species not found in such large numbers in any other reserve in India. The project requires 352.77 acres of land, of which 133.81 acres fall under forest area. Conservationists fear that the project will pose a serious threat to biodiversity in the Western Ghats, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said.
A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said.
Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.
Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.
Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.
Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.
Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.
The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.
According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet.
"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.
