By PK Balachandran

The “Green Trincomalee” Movement is asking the government of India to give up its plan to build a coal-fired power plant at Sampur in Trincomalee district and build an environment-friendly solar power plant instead.

“We are not against India setting up a power plant at Sampur. We realize that Trincomalee is of strategic importance to India. We also know that Sri Lanka needs power. But in the interest of the people and the environment of Sampur, we urge India to give up the plan to build a coal-fired power plant and instead, build a solar power plant,” said Thirunavukkarasu Gopahan, an activist of the Green Trincomalee movement.

He told Express on Thursday, that Trincomalee is one of the most scenic areas of Lanka, ideal for the development of tourism. Its deep-water natural harbor hemmed in by green hills on three sides, is a major attraction. Sampur itself is an agricultural area with many tanks. Its forests are home to tribals. But such an enviable environment will be spoilt when a 500 MW coal fired power plant begins to spew smoke. According to him, the plant will jeopardize the livelihood of about 800 families living in the vicinity.

Pleading for solar power, Gopahan said: “There should be no difficulty in shifting to solar power in Sampur because the Indian company which is to build the coal fired plant, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), is also a solar power producer.”

The other problem posed by the proposed power plant is ensuring the livelihood of the 40 families displaced by it. “When these people went to cultivate the land, they were stopped,” Gopahan said. The power plant has been allocated 551 acres.

Further, the people were not consulted when the environment impact study was done.

“The study done by a New Delhi-based organization had not taken into account the impact on the people of the area because when they did the study, the people were not there!” Gopahan said.

The people had fled en masse in 2006 due to the war, and could come back only after the war. And it was only recently that 881 acres were handed back to the displaced.

Courtesy:New Indian Express