Pejawar seer slams Acharya on UPCL

UDUPI: Pejawar Mutt seer Vishwesha Theertha Swamiji demanded the government not to allow the re-opening of the UPCL unit- 1, which was shut down for annual maintenance, till the Expert Committee submits its report on impact of the coal-based UPCL plant on people and environment.Speaking to the media, the seer also said that till the expert committee submits its report, after public hearings, the government should not give its nod to the UPCL unit-2 too. “If the report says the impact of UPCL on people, life and environment can be set right, they must be done with immediate effect; if the committee finds the impact irreparable, the power plant shall be shut permanently,” he said, adding, “Dr V S Acharya had assured that new-age technology to be employed by the UPCL would minimise the impact, but they failed.”Government is killing time by delaying the process of public hearing by the expert committee, he said.Commenting on Dr Acharya’s statement that those who oppose UPCL were anti-social, he said, “Actually, those who do not respond to the people’s problems caused by the UPCL, or apathetic to them are anti-social.”Replying to Union Minister M Veerappa Moily’s statement on MSEZ that the denotified 2,000 acres of land must be re- notified and swamijis should not interfere in politics, the seer said, “Even Matadhipathis (heads of mutts) should not keep quiet when the country is facing problems. As an Indian, I have equal rights and responsibilities. If I cannot comment on social issues or make political comments, even Moily being a politician should not interfere in the literary field.”As the land acquired for phase 2 of MSEZ is agricultural land, the move to denotify the land was very much justified. I accept Moily’s challenge to hold a debate on the issue, he added.