Tourism policy ?? - Coal-based Thermal Power Station at Hankon, Karwar

POWER At what cost ? Residents of Hankona, a sleepy village near Karwar, are up in arms against a proposed power plant in the region. The locals allege that the company behind the proposed thermal power plant bought land from them in the guise of setting up a resort.

The Kali which flows here has created an evergreen thick forest cover. Except for a bridge that was recently built by the government, the village is entirely cut off from the outside world.

The people of this island-like village had however sold their land a few years ago to a Delhi-based company which had paid them double the asking rate, saying that a five star resort and a pharmaceutical industry would come up on the land.

The farmers who sold their land without second thoughts are now wringing their hands in dismay. The company has begun felling the trees on the land it bought. Word is that a thermal power plant (what is...) will come up on the island. The Project is also cleared by the Govt.

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Meanwhile, take a look at this :-
Orissa inks MoUs for 10 thermal power plants will be set up with an investment of Rs 45,000 crore to produce 10,920 MW power...
Reconsider thermal unit at Chamalapura: KERC Blaming the State government undertaking Power Company of Karnataka Limited (PCKL) for the controversy surrounding the setting up of a 1,000 MW coal based thermal power plant at Chamalapura in Mysore district, the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) has advised the government to take a fresh look at the decision.
Raichur in Karnataka, India has a coal-based thermal power generating station..
It is reported here that High levels of mercury in fish stocks have been found, mainly in coastal areas. Mumbai, Kolkata, Karwar (in Karnataka) and North Koel (in Bihar) are some of the severely affected areas.
* In Mumbai, mercury levels in fish were 0.03-0.82 mg total Hg/kg dry weight (dw); crabs had 1.42-4.94 mg total Hg/kg dw mercury compared to the permissible limit of 0.5 mg/kg.Mercury levels in oysters in Karwar ranged from 0.18-0.54 mg/kg dw.The North Koel river showed mercury concentrations almost 600-700 times above the limits.Mercury in ground water and surface water was detected from across the country: Delhi, Mumbai, Vadodara, Vapi, Ankleshwar, Bhopal, Panipat, Singhrauli, Ganjam, Dhanbad, Durgapur, Howrah, Medak… the list stretched on endlessly.Levels higher than the permissible limits were found near chlor-alkali, cement and chemical units and thermal power plants

Please take a look at this and sign it...Campaign against Coal Based / Fired Thermal Power Plant Projects in India
Greenpeace points to the problem: Thermal Power Plants lead to Climate Chaos
This is the best alternative for a Coal-based Thermal plant - Solar Thermal Electric Power Plants

Solar energy can meet at least 32.5% of the present electricity demand of Karwar and Uttara Kannada.

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Navy ship to be immortalised as artificial reef - Karwar News - Economic Times

A decommissioned Indian Navy ship has become part of an environmental project to showcase the country's marine life - offering adventure tourists opportunities for underwater tours of the vessel.

The ship, which has been sunk off the Karnataka coast in the Arabian sea, will serve as an artificial reef and over time become a natural home to weeds, sea plants, fishes and other creatures of the sea.

The ship, Seaward Defence Boat T-54, had guarded the country's maritime borders for 23 years from the time it was commissioned in September 1982.

The 162-tonne vessel, also known as 'The Ever Vigilant', was sunk off Karwar Port January 30. Prior to this, it was brought for "final preparations" to Karwar, where the Indian Navy is developing a major base.

The electrical wiring and the communication system were removed from the ship and traces of oil cleaned from the fuel tanks. The ship was then towed out, mines were fitted on the vessel and detonated, causing it to sink.

"The mines exploded and sea water rushed into the compartmets. After two blasts, the ship started sinking slowly - stern first and then the bow," an official said.

A survey conducted by a diver revealed the vessel was nestled on the seabed.

The area has initially been opened to professional divers as the underwater visibility has to improve to about six metres before it is possible to view the ship from glass-bottomed boats. The ship will also promote scuba diving as a sport.

Being a first of its kind of project for the Indian Navy, a lot of deliberation had gone into the identification of the site, and the planning and execution of the project.

"The weapon systems and most of the ship's machinery were removed after it was decommissioned. For the project, relevant parts of the ship which had to be cut away to give access were carefully photographed and demarcated," an official said describing the preparations before the ship was sunk.

"Moreover, in view of the strict naval guidelines for dismantling and cleaning the ship, all potential contaminants that could adversely effect marine life were removed to make T-54 as environmentally safe as possible," the official added.

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Nice Words About Karwar in Gladeye's Blog....

People are kind – they go all out to help a woman traveler. I remember hitting Karwar, west coast, Karnataka, without a hotel reservation. Karwar is an awesome 3-hour bus ride from Goa. Karnataka tourism has put out these fabulous ads with lines like ‘but for Karwar we wouldn’t have had the national anthem’, ‘the sands here inspired Tagore to pen his first play’ etc. All very bewitching and unsuspecting people fall for it. Not that the sea is not awesome – it is; and the shells larger than what one has seen anywhere else.

But, here’s the catch: There are no decent hotels on offer. One would imagine that a town by the sea will have hotel rooms looking out to the sea. I was disappointed. Lonely Planet in hand, I checked out the first hotel. Firstly, no sea view, no nothing. The more expensive rooms were okay – so I asked to have a look at the cheaper rooms. They led me through a narrow corridor on the first floor on the other side of the hotel. One of the doors was open. A board outside announced services of a palmist! I glance inside to see the fortune teller – pot bellied middle aged male, ochre robes beads, tilak and all. And I beat a hasty retreat. Strange men in strange robes as neighbours will not do. It doesn’t help that the room the boy shows me sheets with holes in them.

So, I leave my bags there, tell them I’ll be back soon, take some reccos from them where I can get a sea facing room and off I go, hopping into the first auto I see. Enter Karnataka and the language of signboards changes suddenly from English to Kannada. Men wear kumkum, women wear the orange flower in the hair, the bus has a puja with bright yellow flowers, the lungi appears. I see a non-descript building, I cannot read the board but I can tell it is a govt building. The auto man tells me it’s the PWD guest house. So we go have a chat. Yes, rooms are available – Rs 100 per day, but you must get persmission from the PWD office in town. The auto guy takes me willingly. About 11 am in the morning, the all male-office is surprised to see a female unescorted visitor. I tell them my request. First, they are bewildered. Then, they say its election time, so they are expecting guests, they need to check. A flurry of activity. Phone calls are made. A young man asks me to write an application. I do that. Couple of minutes later, he calls the guest house and I have a room.

I thought about it: The men could have said no, we don’t have room – too bad. But they made so much effort to see if it was possible to get me a room. Something like – a woman lands at your door seeking shelter – we cannot turn her away. With my metro mindset I would probably have done that if I was in their place. But they didn’t. When I reach the guest house I find the auto guy doesn’t overcharge for taking him on a spin around town, and the guest house has given me its best room.

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