Mysuru:  The venue of the massive protest against the proposed Thalassery-Mysuru Railway line via South Kodagu has been shifted from J.K. Grounds to Karnataka Exhibition Grounds or the Dasara Exhibition Grounds.

This change has been necessitated as Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting the city on Feb.18 and 19 and the Special Protection Group, responsible for PM’s security, will take over  J.K. Grounds where his chopper will land on Feb.19.

On Feb. 18, thousands of protesters are expected to gather at Karnataka Exhibition Grounds at 9.30 am to protest against the Railway line that will destroy more than a lakh trees across Kodagu, severely impacting the main catchment area of River Cauvery.

The protest rally will start at 9.45 am and will proceed towards Hardinge Circle, Kote Anjaneyaswamy Temple and return to Hardinge Circle and to the Exhibition Grounds, where leaders will address the protesters, disclosed J.P. Aiyanna, Coordinator, ‘Kodagu Against Railway’ protest rally.

Addressing a press conference at Pathrakartara Bhavan in city this morning, Aiyanna said that thousands of people including farmers will come from Mysuru, Kodagu, Mandya and Bengaluru as it is the question of their survival. “This is not just about the Thalassery-Mysuru Railway Line via South Kodagu. This is about many unwanted developmental projects in Kodagu including the Mysuru-Kushalnagar-Mangaluru Railway line, widening and upgrading of State Highways to National Highways, etc,” he said.

“Information obtained through RTI says that there are two Railway lines through Kodagu and both will have Periyapatna or K.R. Nagar as the junction point. One is from Thalassery to Mysuru via South Kodagu and the other from Hunsur to Periyapatna-Kushalnagar-Madikeri and Mangaluru,” he said.

“People are wrongly thinking that the Railway line will be only up to Kushalnagar. MP Pratap Simha’s questions in Parliament during 2016 have confirmed that this line is to Makkandur near Madikeri and from there it will be up to Mangaluru. If the line is permitted up to Kushalnagar, it will ultimately go up to Mangaluru via Madikeri, destroying the green belt and also River Cauvery,”  said.

“We wish to say that all the information given by us is through documents obtained through RTI. We request all political leaders to refrain from creating confusion in the minds of the people by projecting incorrect facts before them,” he said.

Appealing for support,  said, “We want to convey to Karnataka CM that the first duty of the Government is to protect the interests of its own people. Railway projects will destroy Kodagu and hundreds of farmers in the Cauvery belt will lose water source. This being the case, the CM must take a firm stand and refuse the destructive projects through Kodagu that will benefit Kerala,” he said.

Instead of the huge money that is wasted on these destructive projects, the money could be well utilised to improve the river catchments in the entire Malnad region of Karnataka through a variety of environmental policies and good practices, he added.

Amma Kodava Samaja extends support

The Akhila Amma Kodava Samaja has extended its full support to the protest rally on Feb.18. President of the Samaja Bananda Prathyu has said that the proposed Railway line and a host of other developmental projects will destroy the ecosystem of the sensitive Kodagu district.

“These projects are planned for the convenience of the people of Kerala at the cost of the original inhabitants of Kodagu. This must stop. We cannot sacrifice our lives and existence for the sake of others,” he said.