Belman: Construction of electricity transmission tower temporarily suspended on court order

Belman: A court in Karkala on Thursday temporarily stayed the construction of an electricity transmission tower on agricultural land in Inna village.

The villagers are strongly opposing the construction of the tower.

A survey had been ongoing for some time to build the tower in Inna village, to supply electricity from Nandikoor in Udupi to Kasaragod in Kerala.

The villagers had engaged in significant protests and debates, arguing that the construction would lead to the loss of agricultural land. Nevertheless, the contractor company, with police protection, initiated the construction on Wednesday by digging large pits with a JCB machine.

Despite villagers expressing their opposition on Thursday, the company staff continued the work with police assistance, citing orders from district officials.

However, the construction was halted by the court’s temporary injunction by midday.

“Based on the court’s order, the construction has been temporarily halted until further notice,” said Narasappa, Karkala Tehsildar.

Local officials including Inna Village Accountant Hanamant, former Zilla Panchayat member Reshma Uday Shetty, Gram Panchayat member Deepak Kotian, Chandrahas Shetty, and villagers Amarnath Shetty and Praveen Shetty visited the site.

Protests to Continue

The villagers assert that the tower’s construction is severely damaging fertile agricultural land. They claim that no authorities are considering the preservation of agriculture or attempting to listen to the farmers’ grievances.

The company staff is allegedly intimidating the villagers to carry out the work. Therefore, the villagers have vowed to continue their protest against the authorities and the entire project.