Haribol Gaur Nitai,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Prabhupada.
Thanks very much for coming on board to help with our campaign to stop the NSW Government’s proposal to build 70metre towers on our New Gokula property at 83 Lewis Road, Millfield to run a massive 500 kilovolt transmission power line – https://www.energyco.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-11/fact-sheet-htp-central.pdf
If this proposal proceeds it would be a disaster for, not only our community but for the upwards of 40,000 visitors we annually host from the NSW Hindu community, mainly coming from Sydney.
New Gokula is not just a farm but also a major, important temple attraction and place of pilgrimage for the Hindu community and the presence of huge tower(s) running through our property would seriously compromise our ability to attract such visitors what to speak of the ascetic, negative financial and health repercussions.
Another major thrust of our farm is to feature a lifestyle option in harmony with nature and away from the industrialised cities. The tens of thousands of visitors we get each year are also attracted by this feature. They visit and feed our protected cows who live out the natural duration of their lives. Featuring massive power lines and having cows and people living near to them with serious incumbent health risks is the antithesis of our values. This would seriously undermine the authenticity of our project, the number of guests staying in our guesthouse, the number of visitors who frequent us and our only income source which is donations and accommodation fees.
This initiative would receive a huge outcry from the approximately quarter of a million Hindus who live in NSW. As with aboriginal sacred sites, this land is not just a farm, this land is a holy land for all Hindus. One of the first Hindu temples in Australia was opened there in 1986 and the deities of Radha Krishna were installed there and have been worshipped there daily ever since. To desecrate this site would be fundamentally wrong and would most likely meet a huge backlash from the Hindu community and possibly litigation for desecrating temple land of worship.
The following are the alternate ways to submit objection –
Make an electronic submission using this link
Download and print this submission form
Email your submission to: htp@energyco.nsw.gov.au
As the Government has only given until the 18th of December to lodge any objections, this matter is now of the utmost urgency.
Your servant,
Pratapana
