Now Reading: Rohit Pawar leads Ujani dam protest over data centre water use
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Rohit Pawar leads Ujani dam protest over data centre water use
The Story in Brief
NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar on Saturday, 31 October, led a four-hour road blockade on the Pune-Solapur National Highway against proposed AI data centre, green hydrogen and Small Modular Reactor projects at Ujani Dam. Pawar demanded a public hearing within two months and cancellation of the projects, warning they would consume 7-9 TMC of water while generating only 400-500 jobs. Lok Sabha member Dhairyasheel Mohite-Patil and other leaders joined the agitation.
The Solapur district administration dismissed the water-use claims as false, stating the data centre would require only 0.42 TMC of water annually, capped at 0.5 TMC. Officials said 91% of the reservoir area would remain open for fishing, and no residents would be displaced from Bhimanagar. They added that a proposed green hydrogen project had been dropped and no nuclear project is planned. The state government has defended the project as a flagship green data centre initiative signed on 16 April.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Both outlets report the same event with similar balance, though Deccan Chronicle leads with the opposition’s demand for cancellation and Pawar’s warning on water, while The Times of India leads with the protest but gives more room to the administration’s rebuttal, including the exact 0.42 TMC figure and the assurance that no nuclear project is planned. The uniform coverage means the key disagreement, whether the project will consume 7-9 TMC or only 0.42 TMC, is presented without favour. The next step is Pawar’s threat to intensify agitation if authorities proceed without public hearings.
Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral
Sources (2): deccanchronicle.com (neutral report), timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.
