Chamalapura, the epicenter of the group of villages proposed as a site for the thermal power plant. In addition to the loss of rich agricultural lands, displacement of people and adverse impact on the ground water table in the region, the power plant, if set up, would threaten two crucial wildlife habitats- Rajiv Gandhi National Park at Nagarhole is about 14 km away and Bandipur National Park is a mere 30 km from the project site. Right from the beginning, this proposal was met with stiff resistance from project affected people, environmentalists and social action groups [1].

Cutting across socio-economic barriers and urban-rural divide, the agitations were conducted independently by several civil society organisations at different levels, with contonuous vigils at and around the project site, street demonstrations, rasta rook in Mysore etc. [6]. Peaceful protestors were also breaks up, arrested and charged under criminal laws. There were lectures and seminars conducted in Mysore by intellectuals and activists, documentary films made by creative artists, students’ protests, meetings organised between village folk and city folk making common cause and explaining the environmental ill-effects of a mega power plant, and meetings to raise public awareness about the social and environmental ill-effects of the project. There were petitions to all levels of government, and a formal petition was made on October 19, 2007, to the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC), cogently arguing that the project was quite unnecessary and undesirable. People lobbied with elected representatives, and delegations went to Bangalore to argue with government officials and political figures. A very significant event was a huge rally of around 5000 people at the Town Hall in Mysore city centre on September 12, 2007, with leaders of all political parties and groupings excepting, of course, the ruling party at that time, and many intellectuals. Even some religious leaders lent support to the agitation. And the local media covered all aspects of the agitations. An apolitical alliance of agitating organisations and individuals was formed and named as the Chamalapura Ushnavidyut Sthavara Virodhi Horata Samithi (CUSVHS) [6].

As a result of the continued protests, in late 2008, the Karnataka Power Minister announced that the power plant would not be constructed. As a result of this victory, the CUSVHS decided to erect a granite stone table (Vijayagallu) in July 2010, next to a Malleshwara temple on a hill close to Chamalapura [6]. The stone is engraved with a simple message of not undertaking any destructive, anti-people projects in the future [7].