Declare Arittapatti as protected biodiversity zone, Anbumani urges during anti-tungsten mining stir

MADURAI: Scores of villagers at Vellalapatti in Melur taluk of Madurai district continued to protest against the tungsten mining project approved by the Central government to come up at Nayakkarpatti.

PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss, who spearheaded the protest, appealed to the central and State governments to disallow tungsten mining, which would be detrimental to agriculture and the environment.

While addressing the gathering, Anbumani said the PMK will not let cultivable lands be destroyed. He wondered why the State government did not oppose the auction for the tungsten mining block, which is proposed to come up on 5,000 acres and asked why the State government remained silent for ten months after the auctioneering process began. Moreover, the State government officials also took part in meetings ahead of the auction bidding process and required information was provided to the officials. Since 2,000 exploratory oil wells were drilled in the Cauvery Delta region for the oil exploration project and hydrocarbon and methane gas projects, agricultural lands were affected. But after the PMK lodged a series of protests against those projects, the Cauvery Delta was declared by the government as a ‘Protected Special Agriculture Zone’.

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To protect the lives and livelihoods of the villagers, who largely rely on agriculture, he appealed to Chief Minister MK Stalin to put his words into action. In the upcoming Legislative session, the entire 5,000 acres of land covering villages including Nayakkarpatti and its neighbouring Arittapatti, Vellalapatti and surrounding villages should be declared as a ‘Protected Biodiversity Zone’ to safeguard the villagers.