Lok Sabha member B.Y. Raghavendra of the BJP has extended his support to the residents of Sagar, who are staging an indefinite protest opposing the Sharavathi Pumped Storage Project.
Mr. Raghavendra, on Sunday, visited Sagar and met the protesters, who were staging a dharna in front of the office of Assistant Commissioner in the town. The residents, under the banner of Raitha Sangha, have been on a protest since Saturday, October 4, opposing the project.
Addressing the gathering, Mr. Raghavendra said the project, proposed to generate power after pumping water from Gerusoppa reservoir to Talakalale reservior, would cause serious damage the Western Ghats, a biological hotspot. The ill-design project would harm the rare species of flora and fauna, besides forcing the local people to move out.
Mr. Raghavendra said that he would discuss the issue with the Union Minister for Environment and Forests about the project and would bring its ill-impacts to his notice.
The residents of Sagar tlauk, under the banner of Raitha Sangha, have been on a protest since October 4, 2025, opposing the project.
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Similarly, leaders of the Karnataka Rashtra Samithi party also extended their support to the protest on the day. KRS party founder and honorary president Ravi Krishna Reddy, addressing the protesters, said that the design of the project was itself faulty and could not be implemented. The government conceived the project to loot money, he alleged.
Raitha Sangha president Dinesh Shiravala, environmentalist Akhilesh Chipli and others were present.
Published – October 06, 2025 03:31 pm IST
