Cancel tungsten mining project before it ruins environment, Madurai locals urge govt
The Centre, on November 7, gave its nod to Hindustan Zinc Limited, a subsidiary of Vedanta Group, which secured rights to mine a tungsten block at Nayakkarpatti in Madurai, sources said.
Villagers throng at A. Vallalapatti near Melur in protest against the tungsten mining project, on Thursday
MADURAI: Several villagers and traders gathered at A. Vallalapatti village near Melur on Thursday to condemn the move to set up a tungsten mining project in Madurai.
The Centre, on November 7, gave its nod to Hindustan Zinc Limited, a subsidiary of Vedanta Group, which secured rights to mine a tungsten block at Nayakkarpatti in Madurai, sources said.
During the programme, the villagers urged the central government to withdraw the license granted to execute the mining project set on 5,000 acres of land in parts of Melur taluk. The villagers claimed that if the project materialises, it will affect not only the environment but also cultivable lands spread through eleven villages, including Arittapatti, which has been declared as the first ‘Biodiversity Heritage Site’ in Tamil Nadu, A. Vallalapatti, Kidaripatti, Mangulam, Narasingampatti, Vellaripatti, Pulipatti and Ettimangalam.
The villagers also demanded that the state government convene a special meeting in the Legislative Assembly and make a policy decision against the mining project, which should not be allowed in Madurai. They also sought the intervention of all the Members of Parliament representing Tamil Nadu to raise their voices in the Winter Session of the Parliament and cancel the tungsten mining project.