‘It will damage delicate ecology of the region’

With the slogan of ‘Stop Mining in Nallamala,’ the Joint Forum for People’s Democratic Rights protested at the Collectorate on Sunday morning.

The forum is a face organisation of numerous progressive organisations, members of which have all voiced their concern.

They said that the uranium mining in the forests would inevitably damage the delicate ecology of the region, and claimed that Chenchu tribes of the region would be immediately affected.

G. Bhargava, general secretary of Progressive Organisation of People, said that Chenchus are some of the most ancient tribes in India and that the mining would have a grave impact on them. He said that the mining would affect Krishna river, polluting the water and later the villages around it. Jana Vignaana Vedika founding member V. Brahma Reddy, who has been a vocal critic of the Central government’s decision, gave the example of Chhattisgarh and alleged that chemical processing and the waste management of uranium in Chhattisgarh is being done improperly. “If mining is allowed in Nallamala, I do not think it will be any different than that of Chhattisgarh,” he said.

Waste management

Elaborating on the toxic waste, he said that the waste is generally buried inside the earth. However, he alleged that as the government is doing a sub-par job at management and the waste is exposed to human beings and ecology. “The rains in Nallamala will inevitably end up in Krishna river. If any of the waste washes down into the river, it will pollute the river to a large extent,” he said.

Talking about the use of uranium in the country, he claimed that only 3% of power in the country is provided by uranium and questioned the reason behind mining more uranium. He said that the government should spend money on research and development of renewable energy, such as solar, to provide for public needs.