People of Kappatralla and nearby villages in Devanakonda mandal of the district are raising their voice against the Central Government for granting permission for conducting tests to assess the availability of uranium in the reserve forest area near Kappatralla.
The villagers fear losing their lands and livelihood and also adverse affects of uranium mining on their lives. The locals have been staging silent protests for sometime now and on Saturday (November 2, 2024), they laid siege to the Adoni-Kurnool road demanding immediate halt of any attempts to explore uranium in their villages.
The Atomic Minerals Directorate based at Hyderabad had sought permission for assessing the uranium reserves in 2017 in Kappatralla and nearby areas and collected samples. In continuation of the tests, the Union Ministry of Forests, Environment and Climate Change had recently granted permission to drill 68 borewells in an extent of 468.25 hectares in Kappatralla reserve forest in Adoni forest range.
Though officials maintained that the digging of bores is to assess the uranium reserves in the area and not for exploration of the material, locals are apprehensive of the move.
Kapatrala village sarpanch Chennama Naidu said they would oppose uranium exploration in the region as it would adversely affect their livelihood. “They are claiming that the tests are only for assessing the uranium reserves but do not want even the tests to be conducted here,’’ Mr. Chennama Naidu said.
“Amid growing opposition, it was decided to create proper awareness among the people about people of the mandal about the digging of bores and go ahead with the process,” a senior forest official said. “Forest Department and revenue officials were asked to reach out to the locals and interact with them,” the official said.
Meanwhile, officials of Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) are likely to conduct a meeting with the protesting villagers on Monday (November 4, 2024) to give an assurance that the tests are only for assessing the uranium reserves and not for exploration.
Published – November 03, 2024 11:49 am IST