Allegations have been made against Sri Lankan government agencies, claiming they are attempting to illegally approve Adani's project in the Mannar district.
There have been complaints that Adani has benefited from the conduct and reporting of all studies, including the project's environmental impact assessment.
What does Adani want to do in Sri Lanka? What's wrong with this, exactly? Why was there a protest?
Among the world's eight most important bird migration destinations, Sri Lanka is a birder's dream for South Asia. After migrating through around 30 nations and thousands of kilometers, these birds arrive in Sri Lanka. An estimated 1.5 million birds are thought to visit Sri Lanka annually. The primary entry point for birds into Sri Lanka is Mannar. However, the Mannar region is also a part of Sri Lanka's northern province, which is primarily home to Tamil people.
The majority of workers in the region are maritime. Mannar is regarded as a significant location in Sri Lankan history, both politically and physically.
In this instance, a number of parties are accusing government agencies of creating an illogical environmental assessment study and getting ready to award Adani Green Energy Sri Lanka the Katalai power production project in the event that the migratory birds fail to arrive in Sri Lanka.
The environmental assessment report that was created in order to approve the wind power generation project has been made public by the Central Environment Authority. This report's public hearing will continue until March 6, 2024. The environmental assessment report's expert group, however, has disregarded the claims made by the people.
According to Professor Sampath Senaviratne of Colombo University's Department of Zoology, speaking to the BBC in Sinhala, "Mandar is home to up to 10 lakh migratory birds that visit Sri Lanka between October and March." The report did point out that there were no issues with migratory birds and that surveys were carried out during non-migratory bird periods. This is a grave error, he declares.
Sampath further notes that hundreds of migratory birds migrate at night, and the report was compiled throughout the day, from 6 am to 6 pm.
An effort to permit the Adani project in Mannar, Sri Lanka without authorization? Environmentalists protest, but why?
The proposed Mannar Wind Power Project is expected to produce 250 MW of power in its second phase. 52 brand-new wind turbines have also been put in place. The environmental report makes clear that new wind turbines are to be installed in the majority of Mannar Island in a direction parallel to the Thambavani wind farm project.
An annual electricity production of 1048 gigawatts is anticipated.
Additionally, it is claimed that this will lower annual CO2 emissions by 8 lakh tonnes. An estimated 18 billion Sri Lankan rupees would be spent annually on fuel for this.
As per the study released by the Sri Lanka Energy Authority on April 17, 2014, 202 hectares of land will be utilized for this project.
An environmental impact report for the project was created by a group under the direction of Ramani Ellepola. Himesh Jayasinghe of the University of Colombo has studied the impacts of plants, and DAJ Ranwala on water bodies, and Prof. Devaka Weerakon of Colombo University has studied the effects on animals and birds.
Ramani Ellebola, BBC study group leader. "We cannot say that we have given permission for the project that Adani needs," he added in a statement to Sinhala Seva. We've taken down a few wind turbines after assessing the surrounding circumstances. Some of us have moved," he remarked.
What harm does Adani's plan pose to the Mannar region? An effort to permit the Adani project in Mannar, Sri Lanka without authorization? Environmentalists protest, but why?
Thambavani, a wind power plant owned by the Sri Lanka Electricity Board, is presently under development in Mannar. Research on the project's effects on the environment was prepared throughout execution.
But more birds have died as a result of this power plant than research has suggested. This power plant's wind turbines are positioned close to the coast. According to Adani's proposal, Mannar Island will be mostly covered in wind turbines. Therefore, greater harm is probably going to happen, environmentalists note.