Mumbai protests as Gujarat denies right of way for Dahej-Uran gas pipeline

Hundreds of people from various social and political fora have hit the streets of Mumbai to protest Gujarats refusal to allow the Dahej-Uran gas pipeline to pass through its territory.

Mumbai, May 4 : Hundreds of people from various social and political fora have hit the streets of Mumbai to protest Gujarat's refusal to allow the Dahej-Uran gas pipeline to pass through its territory.

"We protest Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's move to keep Maharashtra in the dark. We would like to remind him that the Kandla Kakinada pipeline goes through our state. We are followers of the Gandhian ideology and we won't resort to measures that he takes. We can definitely adopt the non- cooperation measure," said Jitendra Awhad, one of the protestors.

Earlier this week, the Gujarat Government said it would not permit work on a 12-kilometre stretch of the Dahej-Uran gas pipeline that could feed the Dabhol Power Project, which is expected to help Maharashtra tide over its impending power crisis.

The pipeline could have helped to feed the plant to generate 2100 mega watts of power by the year end. Gujarat's stance has pushed back the timeframe indefinitely.

The pipeline project had been undertaken by the state-run Gas Authority of India Limited.

Maharashtra, which is currently facing a shortfall of 6000 mega watts, is ruled by a coalition led by the Congress, while the Bharatiya Janata Party is in power in Gujarat.

Mumbai is threatened with its first power cut in decades, underscoring the depth of a power crisis that is crimping the country's economic potential.

The Dabhol plant, India's single biggest foreign direct investment, has been shut since May 2001 after a billing dispute with its sole customer -- the Maharashtra State electricity Board (MSEB).

Located on western Maharashtra coast, the plant was generating 744 MW of power when it was shut down. Work was then nearly complete on a plant that was to generate1,444 MW of power. A 2.5 million tonne per year liquefied natural gas import terminal was also hearing completion at that time.

ANI