Sharavathi project drilling work stops

BENGALURU: Work on geo-technical investigations and drilling work for the 2000 MW Sharavathi Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Project has come to a standstill. The work was going on in the Sharavathi Valley LTM Sanctuary.

Confirming this, forest officials said work had, in fact, slowed down but now it had been completely stopped. Since the project site is a protected area that was expanded only last year, the  KPCL officials were taken around recently and were shown the presence of the critically endangered Lion Tailed Macaques (LTM) in and around the area where drilling was going on.

Launching the survey work in May end, the Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) had taken up the drilling of 12 bore holes to ascertain the feasibility of the hydroelectric project in the evergreen rainforests spread across Sagar and Honnavar taluks. This was after permission was granted by the Chief Wildlife Warden on May 6 to carry out a survey but adhering to 10 conditions.

Sources in KPCL said only one borehole has been drilled till date as the terrain is pretty risky and difficult. A forest official said, “If some forest terrains here are very deep and remote, some are on the surface. However, digging in this extremely dense and inaccessible rainforest is a tough task.”