Govt risking public health for power plants : Chiru

Praja Rajyam Party president K Chiranjeevi on Tuesday criticized the state government for giving permits to power plants at the cost of people’s health.

Talking to media person after launching his three-day Praja Chaitanya Yatra at Ichapuram, the actor-turned-politician reiterated that the PRP would intensify its fight against power projects, which could wreck havoc on the environment and affect the people’s livelihood.

Mr Chiranjeevi also made a trip to the Kakarapalle village in Santabommali mandal of the district on a motorcycle. A company, ‘East Coast Energy Private Ltd’ is setting up a thermal plant with a capacity of 2,640 MW at the village.

“Srikakulam is not a laboratory to experiment on people. The construction of power plants at the cost of welfare of people and environmental protection would not serve any purpose”, the PRP chief stated.

Locals and environmentalists have already expressed concern that these projects may result in damage to the fragile coastal environs and large-scale pollution.

The PRP chief also took the opportunity to criticize the state government for its failure to supply adequate quantity of fertilizers to the farmers.

Mr Chiranjeevi lambasted Agriculture Minister N Raghuveera Reddy’s reported statement that too much usage of fertilizers has led to shortage of fertilizers in the state.

He said that such statements were attempts to pin the blame on farmers. Mr Chiranjeevi advised the government of working to solve the issues of the farmers instead of finding excuses for its negligence.

The actor-turned-politician charged that the government has failed totally in addressing people’s problems.

The Praja Chaitanya Yatra is aimed to create awareness on people’s problems, according to the party.