Telangana: Villagers intensify stir over Jagtial ethanol uni ..
HYDERABAD: After protests over land acquisition for master plan and industrial purpose in Kamareddy and Jagtial districts, now citizens of two villages are up in arms over a proposed ethanol unit being set up by Krishak Bharati Cooperative Limited (KRIBHCO) in Jagtial district.
Congress and BJP have extended their support for the protests and vowed to continue their fight till the unit, being set up by the national-level cooperative society engaged in fertilizer production and distribution, is withdrawn Villagers of Sthambampalli and Pashigama are protesting over the proposed
ethanol unit near Rayapatnam for the past few days and held dharnas and rasta
rokos on the National Highway. The protests intensified after social welfare
minister Koppula Eshwar performed ‘bhumi puja’ for the unit recently despite stiff
opposition from the locals
“The state government decided to shift the unit to our villages when there were similar protests in Korutla in Jagtial district, Chennur in Mancherial district and Mahabubnagar district against setting up this industry,” Kasam Narsaiah, a villager of Velgatur, said. He said the unit would result in both groundwater and air pollution in their areas. The villagers held a dharna in front of Jagtial collectorate on Monday.
For the unit, the government has earmarked about 80 acres for the joint venture project and allocated 13 crore for land-levelling works to facilitate setting up of the 700-crore ethanol plant. The unit would produce eight crore litres of ethanol per year.
“Ethanol is produced from rice, rice husk, rice bran and com, etc., material. Jagtial is one of the top paddy-producing districts. It does not produce any type of pollution. Some political parties are using the villagers for their political mileage,” social welfare minister Koppula Eshwar told TOI.
He said the government would not withdraw the proposal of setting up the unit any cost. “The ethanol unit is useful for locals as they will get employment too.
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