Chennithala visits Athirappilly hydel project

Thrissur: Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala on Sunday visited Athirappilly but refrained from making definitive stand for or against the proposed hydro-electric project there.
Chennithala, however, said the Congress and the UDF would take a stand on the project based on the opinion of the people of the area and would keep utmost importance to the survival of the flaura and fauna in the area.
The opposition raised by the people of the area various activists' group against the project would be presented before the KPCC and the UDF, he assured. The Congress has always been keen on conserving environment right from the days of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.
He conceded that he was totally for the project earlier, and his views then were largely based on the assessment of the KSEB officials that hydel power was the very cheap and the project would cause limited environmental damage.
However, now there is growing public opposition against the dams in general. The demands to decommission even the existing dams are gaining strength now. The increased awareness created by those agitating against the project had made him review his earlier stand, Chennithala said.