Sanat K Chakraborty
Guwahati
A proposal for an exploratory drilling at a newly-surveyed uranium site inside the Balpakram National Park (BNP), in South Garo hills of Meghalaya, has raised the hackles of wildlife and conservation groups in the State.
The 400-sq km BNP is a known habitat for Asian elephant, tiger and other endangered animals such as, Hoolock Gibbon and Slow loris, apart from being home to rare and endemic plants.
Last year, the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) had sought permission for an exploratory drilling in the ecologically fragile Rongcheng plateau of the Park for which the DAE has requested for de-notification of 8 sq km of forest under the national park.
According to a recent survey, the Rongcheng Plateau is one of the “most potential” sites for “high grade, large tonnage uranium deposits”, which requires confirmation. The exploratory drilling is aimed at that.
“We are not going to allow any mining activities inside the BNP,” said Ginseng Sangma of the Chitmang Hills Anti-Mining Forum, which filed the RTI petition about the proposed exploratory uranium mining activities.
He said BNP was not only a biodiversity and ecological hotspot, “it’s a sacred place for us.” The Garos believe the spirit of their ancestors reside in the forest of Balpakram.
Not only the indigenous Garos, the Hindus too believe that Balpakram was the mythological hillock from where Hanuman plucked the life-giving herbs, sanjeevani, for wounded Lakshman.
Normally, any mining activity around a national park is rejected outright, but considering ‘uranium’ as a ‘critical mineral’, the ministry has to look at ‘larger national interest,’ an NBWL member told The Pioneer.
Another uranium mining proposal in West Khasi hills of Meghalaya is lying pending since 1992, with several anti-nuke groups opposing the project citing radiation effect on human health and environmental degradation.
The Uranium Corpo-ration of India (UCIL) has proposed to set up a Rs 1,046 crore opencast uranium mining and processing unit in Domiasiat area, which has an estimated deposit of 9.22 million tones of uranium ore.
Read more:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/249179/Opposition-to-uranium-mining-in-national-park.html
