Why shifting IIT to Raichur from Dharwad, An Unfavourable Choice?

CM of Karnataka has requested the Central Government to consider Raichur to set up IIT instead of Dharwad. We believe that IIT Dharwad is a better choice as Raichur is on the brink of an eco disaster and is not in a position to support an IIT.

We have the following statements to insist that Raichur is a wrong choice for Karnataka's first IIT:

Power Crisis - Leading To Major Environmental Disaster

• Owing to the severe power crisis in Karnataka and the increased reliance on the Raichur Thermal Power Station - the largest thermal power plant in the state, Karnataka, could be staring at a major environmental disaster.
  
• Power crisis in the state has resulted in a huge space crunch, where the officials of RTPS have no space to dump even a kilo of fly ash.
  
• At present all the 8 units of the RTPS is generating power to the capacity, with this rate, in a year time, there will be no place to dump any fly ash generated by the RTPS.

The disturbing mount of fly as produced at the RTPS is as follows:

• 20 lakh Metric Tonnes of fly ash is generated at RTPS
• 65% of the fly ash is utilised every year.
• 75 lakh tonnes of coal is consumed every year
• 16 lakh tonees of fly ash is generated every year
• 4.4 lakh tonnes of bottom ash is generated every year.

Water Crisis in Raichur

• Another issue with Raichur district is its water supply, people in this district are suffering with improper, insufficient and unfit drinking water supply.
  
• The district always faces excessive droughts throughout the year.

Drinking water laced with Arsenic in Raichur

• Most of the people in Raichur district are drinking water contaminated with a deadly toxic chemical known as arsenic.
  
• Due to absence of other sources of water, people are forced to use arsenic contaminated water.
  
• Safe and sufficient drinking water has become a luxury for the people of Raichur district.
  
• The contamination of water in the district can be attributed the thermal power plant and its unscientific way of disposing fly ash.

With all the above difficulties in the Raichur district, it is better to tame the problems in the district than to pressurize its existence by setting up an IIT. We conclude by voting for Karnataka's first IIT to be set up in Dharwad as finalised earlier and also to solve the problems faced by the people of Raichur in a judicial manner.

The continuation of the current situation in Raichur will lead the district into an ecological disaster.