Madurai villages celebrate first sign of victory against 'detrimental' tungsten mining

MADURAI: Villages in Melur Taluk, where the Centre had proposed to set up a tungsten mining project, erupted in celebration after the State Assembly adopted a resolution urging the Union government to drop the proposal.

Villagers who had convened special grama sabha meetings to pass a resolution against the project, which they felt would be detrimental to the environment, damage historic places and affect their livelihood, heaved a sigh of relief as the State unanimously voiced against mining. A Vellalapatti was one such village where people gathered in large numbers and cheered the first sign of their victory. The villagers had earlier blocked the Madurai Collectorate to highlight their opposition on Monday.

Welcoming the State government's resolution, Tungsten Mining Project Ethirppu Makkal Kootamaippu's representative K Selvaraj, hailing from Kambur village, said they are elated with the State government's support on this issue. He sees this as a step forward in achieving the goal. Even though the Centre has reportedly agreed to drop the project, the association wants to wait till they hit the last nail in the coffin.

The villages in and around Arittapatti, largely dependent on agriculture, see mining as a move that will eliminate all their means of livelihood.

When Grama Sabha meetings were convened on November 23, over 25 village panchayats in Melur taluk adopted resolutions demanding the Centre cancel the license granted to the private firm to mine tungsten in the area around Arittapatti.

The panchayats also called on the State government not to permit the mining project, demanding a policy decision in the Legislative Assembly and enacting a special law in this regard, Selvaraj recalled.

Madurai MP Su Venkatesan, who was the first to oppose the proposal, thanked the State government for adopting the special resolution.