BANGALORE: Acknowledging that the uranium mining undertaken by Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) in Yadgir district has caused health hazards to the people residing in surrounding villages, District incharge Minister Rajugowda said that he would appeal to the state government to not consent to the project. He was addressing the media here on Wednesday after meeting representatives of Gogi village in the district, local legislators, scientists and experts on the UCIL project.“A delegation will appeal to the chief minister seeking cancellation of the permission granted for uranium mining in the district,” he said.He added that the state government had in principle agreed to allot over 102 hectares to the UCIL for undertaking mining activities in Gogi, where rich deposits of uranium were found. The minister pointed out that some farmers who have already agreed to part with their land for the project had done so owing to ignorance about the potential health hazards due to mining.“If UCIL were to be allowed to take up mining, fertile land in a 100 km radius of the region would turn barren. This will not cause immense damage to the environment and wildlife,” Rajugowda said. The effluents from a 273 m deep tunnel, dug into the ground for uranium extraction had polluted a water tank located nearby, causing health problems to residents of the region, the minister elucidated. Citing the example of people protesting in large numbers against the Jaduguda mining area in Jharkhand, Rajugowda said, “Residents of Gogi village have already started experiencing radiation- related ailments such as tuberculosis, cancer and congenital malformation.” Shahapur legislator Sharanabasappa Darshanpur, Dr Ramakrishna from the Indian Institute of Science, and farmer representatives were among those present on the occasion.
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