There is an important meeting on August 12th in Hyderabad. Hundreds of shareholders of GVK are gathering for its annual general body meeting. GVK is a major infrastructure company from Hyderabad that has given India a host of airports, hotels and roads. But GVK is about to make a big mistake! And we need to tell them that.
The company has recently decided to invest in a risky 60,000 crore rupee project that exploits coal in Australia and imports it to India and other parts of Northern Asia. Why should the company’s decision worry us? There are three main reasons for this:
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GVK’s coal terminal for exports to India stands right in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef heritage area, the largest coral reef in the world and an ecologically sensitive region.
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The second reason is that this dirty coal will be burned in India where coal pollution has already resulted in lakhs of premature deaths! (1)
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and the project will increase global warming pollution
It also turns out that GVK’s Alpha coal mine, rail and port project is NOT economically viable (2). This clearly is a ‘bad investment’ not just for the company, but for the health and safety of our fellow citizens. It can be stopped before it takes off and this is how we can do it. Join us by signing up on the right.
The annual general body meeting will bring in stakeholders who need to reminded of the company’s wrong choice of investments. It’s not coal that we need, it’s investment in renewable energy! We are organising ourselves in Hyderabad for a peaceful action outside the meeting venue (Satya Sai Nigamagamam, Sri Nagar Colony) (3). The action will involve a photo exhibition that will have images of coal pollution in India and messages from our friends in Australia who also think this is bad decision from GVK. We will aim to deliver a solar panel to the GVK board and urge them to invest in a future that is clean and safe!
Join us on August 12th for this action from 10 AM - 1 PM. If you are interested or want to learn more, sign up here and we will get in touch with you very soon.
References:
1) Coal Kills over 1 lakh every year - http://www.greenpeace.org/india/Global/india/report/Coal_Kills.pdf
2) GVK’s bad investment - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/GVKs-Australia-coal-project-a-quagmire-not-an-investment-says-report/articleshow/20651363.cms