Environmentalists and representatives of several organisations in Shivamogga district met Deputy Commissioner Prabhulinga Kavalikatti on Wednesday and submitted a memorandum urging him not to permit any project that could harm the ecologically sensitive Malnad region, with particular concern over the proposed nuclear power plant at Besur in Sagar taluk.

The delegation gathered under the banner of the Malenadu Anti-Nuclear Plant Struggle Forum, a collective formed specifically in opposition to the nuclear plant proposal.

In their memorandum, the activists expressed deep concern over the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) proposal to establish a nuclear plant at Besur, saying it had already set off widespread anxiety among local communities. They flagged the recent ground-level data collection activities related to the project as a cause for alarm, warning that if the plant were to come up, it would prove catastrophic for the region and its people.

The memorandum cautioned that any radiation leak from the facility could affect all life — human and otherwise — within a 40-kilometre radius, causing severe and long-term health consequences. The activists also invoked the historical suffering of the Malnad people, who had already lost their lands over decades due to dam projects. “The people of Malnad have endured enough. They cannot be asked to bear yet another assault in the name of development,” the memorandum stated.

Those present included Aravind Patil of the Anti-Nuclear Plant Forum, K.V. Vasanth Kumar of Nagarika Hitarakshana Vedike, Ti. Na. Srinivasa of Malenad Janapara Horata Vedike, and representatives of Paryavaran Trust and the Shivamogga District Chamber of Commerce and Industries.