— Dwaipayan
As ignorance is precedence, falling prey to it is virtually development. This is what is far too evident from the recent chain of events in Meghalaya. The Uranium Corporation of India (UCIL) has found a substantial amount of high quality uranium in the entire stretch from Wakhyn to Mawthabah in the West Khasi Hills district of the State which alone accounts for 16 per cent of India’s total uranium deposits, after a protracted 14 years of its exploratory study in the areas since 1992. Ever since its discovery of the metal the UCIl has sought to carry out commercial mining there. Every time it has tried to impress upon the local people and various organisations from the State about the need for mining, during the past couple of years, every time it has to return disappointed with most of them voicing their opposition to it, fearing a possible mining disaster.
There is no gainsaying that India has long left the need for the metal not only to carry forward its nuclear programme but also make up for its huge deficit in energy generation. Given the shortfall in uranium, the country is now supposedly banking largely on the State for it to serve its twin purposes. But, due to what may be termed inept handling of the pressure situation there on more than one occasion in the recent past by the Union Ministry of Forest and Environment and the UCIL arising out of their move to start mining in the areas, the issue has got so intricate that unless they do seriously set about addressing the growing concerns of the local people over environmental and health hazards that they fear may result from mining, an wayout of the current impasse may be difficult to find in the immediate future.
The broad hint which has already been in evidence with the recent visit to the State of the two emissaries sent by the Centre, the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, Anil Kakodharm and the Union Cabinet Secretary, KM Chandrasekhar, so far failing to yield any tangible results. During their sojourn, both of them had held extensive discussions with the Meghalaya government and the NGOs at Shilling to convince them to allow the UCIL to embark upon the proposed uranium mining project named Kylleng-Pyndeng-Sohiong plant. The duo also discussed with the two influential regional parties, the Hill State People’s Democratic Party (HSPDP) and Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM), and the students’ bodies including the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU), so as to arrive at a consensus formula on this score. All these meetings, no wonder, rather than see some of these socio-political formulations, if not all relenting in their attitudes, witnessed them add only new points to their already-made public arguments against mining.
Consider the stand of the KSU after its, meeting with Chandrashekhar and Kakodhkar on the proposed mining in the Meghalaya. Its leaders have strongly reacted to the Centre’s alleged haste with which it wants to start mining, by arguing that they would continue to oppose it and convince the cabinet secretary and the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission to tell New Delhi to cancel the project. The near-similar opinion was shared by an urban-based NGO, the powerful Langrin Youth Welfare Association (LYWA) comprising 15 uranium-rich villages in West Khasi Hills. It also went a step further while arguing that it has already asked the Centre to “forget” about mining uranium as it would continue to oppose any move to put people’s health in jeopardy.
From their statements to the press, one thing is clear that they are still presumably apprehensive of possible radioactive substances or radiation from mining sites that may result in serious and long-term health and environmental hazards at the locations and their peripheroes. It is indeed a genuine concern that can seldom be taken on as having been a canard being spread by some vicious circle or as unfounded.
Therefore, if the KSU, the LYWA or a bulk of the population in the State are sceptical about its effects, the valid reasons are the series of shocking developments that had occurred in the recent times not only in several parts of Meghalaya including West Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya but a few other places like Jadugoda in Jharkhand resulting in the exposure of many illiterate, poverty-stricken villagers to serious health hazards. All these incidents were outcome of what is termed “unsafe mining.”
Arguably, what had happened at the uranium-rich Jadugoda in the recent past can well be alluded to here as one of the worst forms of mining disaster. The leakage of radioactivity substances allegedly given human error had led to serious hazards at the mining and its surrounding areas. This unsafe mining of uranium caused such deadly diseases as lung cancer, genetic disorder among many women Adivasis ending up with growing number of deformed babies.
A similar disgusting episode of misfortune took place in the wake of the 1992 exploratory work for uranium mining in West Khasi Hills district wherein several children from Langpa, Nongmluh and Phlangdilion villages were taken ill, as alleged by the LYWA general secretary Andreas Lyngdoh. Even worse, shoals of fish in Kynshi and Rilang rivers were dead after the drilling work. Indeed, he now seems to be a little bit flexible in his attitude when he said they are hopeful that an independent team of experts would be able to assess the impact of the proposed mining in the district.
There is no element of doubt that uranium like any other metal found beneath the earth surface, has its good effects and bad effects. Safe mining or risk-free mining keeps environment unaffected. So are the lives of man and living things. On the contrary, its misuse may have, as we are aware of, far too harmful effect on mankind and ecology, as well as on wild life. The happenings at Jadugoda, parts of West Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills where coal mining that had been carried out a couple of years ago, had adversely affected all the abiotic components such as air, land and water bodies in the biosphere in around the locations, lead one to infer a conclusion that all these shocking occurrences must have taken place due to the harsh and hasty manner it was undertaken, with no or scant attention to safety measures. There developments have naturally sparked a strong sense of insecurity among the people of Meghalaya. So much so that the Centre’s recent overture of Rs 800-crore compensation package for infrastructural development in the uranium-rich villages in the West Khasi Hills district of the State could seldom help assuage their feelings. The KSU, for example, has rejected it.
It is indeed good to learn that the Centre wants to set up the uranium mining project in the district, and, to appease them the lucrative package was announced. But, it will throw up hardly any surprise if the sop only adds to their doubts the UCIL’s sincerity about safe-mining. That is why at this point of time what is needed most for New Delhi to facilitate an early solution to the deadlock is to immediately address the concern areas of the people.
Their prime concern however, is about serious health hazards that may be caused by leaking out of radioactive substances or radiation from careless or unsafe mining. Therefore, the Centre should now concentrate more on restoring confidence among the people in Meghalaya, especially those in the uranium-mining sites by giving them an undertaking or making announcement in local newspapers and on TV that there will be no health hazards at all due to mining. It should also simultaneously assure the villagers of employment in the proposed project and those that adequate compensation would be offered if at all dis-possessed from land. source: assam tribune editorial 17.09.08
As ignorance is precedence, falling prey to it is virtually development. This is what is far too evident from the recent chain of events in Meghalaya. The Uranium Corporation of India (UCIL) has found a substantial amount of high quality uranium in the entire stretch from Wakhyn to Mawthabah in the West Khasi Hills district of the State which alone accounts for 16 per cent of India’s total uranium deposits, after a protracted 14 years of its exploratory study in the areas since 1992. Ever since its discovery of the metal the UCIl has sought to carry out commercial mining there. Every time it has tried to impress upon the local people and various organisations from the State about the need for mining, during the past couple of years, every time it has to return disappointed with most of them voicing their opposition to it, fearing a possible mining disaster.
There is no gainsaying that India has long left the need for the metal not only to carry forward its nuclear programme but also make up for its huge deficit in energy generation. Given the shortfall in uranium, the country is now supposedly banking largely on the State for it to serve its twin purposes. But, due to what may be termed inept handling of the pressure situation there on more than one occasion in the recent past by the Union Ministry of Forest and Environment and the UCIL arising out of their move to start mining in the areas, the issue has got so intricate that unless they do seriously set about addressing the growing concerns of the local people over environmental and health hazards that they fear may result from mining, an wayout of the current impasse may be difficult to find in the immediate future.
The broad hint which has already been in evidence with the recent visit to the State of the two emissaries sent by the Centre, the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, Anil Kakodharm and the Union Cabinet Secretary, KM Chandrasekhar, so far failing to yield any tangible results. During their sojourn, both of them had held extensive discussions with the Meghalaya government and the NGOs at Shilling to convince them to allow the UCIL to embark upon the proposed uranium mining project named Kylleng-Pyndeng-Sohiong plant. The duo also discussed with the two influential regional parties, the Hill State People’s Democratic Party (HSPDP) and Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM), and the students’ bodies including the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU), so as to arrive at a consensus formula on this score. All these meetings, no wonder, rather than see some of these socio-political formulations, if not all relenting in their attitudes, witnessed them add only new points to their already-made public arguments against mining.
Consider the stand of the KSU after its, meeting with Chandrashekhar and Kakodhkar on the proposed mining in the Meghalaya. Its leaders have strongly reacted to the Centre’s alleged haste with which it wants to start mining, by arguing that they would continue to oppose it and convince the cabinet secretary and the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission to tell New Delhi to cancel the project. The near-similar opinion was shared by an urban-based NGO, the powerful Langrin Youth Welfare Association (LYWA) comprising 15 uranium-rich villages in West Khasi Hills. It also went a step further while arguing that it has already asked the Centre to “forget” about mining uranium as it would continue to oppose any move to put people’s health in jeopardy.
From their statements to the press, one thing is clear that they are still presumably apprehensive of possible radioactive substances or radiation from mining sites that may result in serious and long-term health and environmental hazards at the locations and their peripheroes. It is indeed a genuine concern that can seldom be taken on as having been a canard being spread by some vicious circle or as unfounded.
Therefore, if the KSU, the LYWA or a bulk of the population in the State are sceptical about its effects, the valid reasons are the series of shocking developments that had occurred in the recent times not only in several parts of Meghalaya including West Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya but a few other places like Jadugoda in Jharkhand resulting in the exposure of many illiterate, poverty-stricken villagers to serious health hazards. All these incidents were outcome of what is termed “unsafe mining.”
Arguably, what had happened at the uranium-rich Jadugoda in the recent past can well be alluded to here as one of the worst forms of mining disaster. The leakage of radioactivity substances allegedly given human error had led to serious hazards at the mining and its surrounding areas. This unsafe mining of uranium caused such deadly diseases as lung cancer, genetic disorder among many women Adivasis ending up with growing number of deformed babies.
A similar disgusting episode of misfortune took place in the wake of the 1992 exploratory work for uranium mining in West Khasi Hills district wherein several children from Langpa, Nongmluh and Phlangdilion villages were taken ill, as alleged by the LYWA general secretary Andreas Lyngdoh. Even worse, shoals of fish in Kynshi and Rilang rivers were dead after the drilling work. Indeed, he now seems to be a little bit flexible in his attitude when he said they are hopeful that an independent team of experts would be able to assess the impact of the proposed mining in the district.
There is no element of doubt that uranium like any other metal found beneath the earth surface, has its good effects and bad effects. Safe mining or risk-free mining keeps environment unaffected. So are the lives of man and living things. On the contrary, its misuse may have, as we are aware of, far too harmful effect on mankind and ecology, as well as on wild life. The happenings at Jadugoda, parts of West Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills where coal mining that had been carried out a couple of years ago, had adversely affected all the abiotic components such as air, land and water bodies in the biosphere in around the locations, lead one to infer a conclusion that all these shocking occurrences must have taken place due to the harsh and hasty manner it was undertaken, with no or scant attention to safety measures. There developments have naturally sparked a strong sense of insecurity among the people of Meghalaya. So much so that the Centre’s recent overture of Rs 800-crore compensation package for infrastructural development in the uranium-rich villages in the West Khasi Hills district of the State could seldom help assuage their feelings. The KSU, for example, has rejected it.
It is indeed good to learn that the Centre wants to set up the uranium mining project in the district, and, to appease them the lucrative package was announced. But, it will throw up hardly any surprise if the sop only adds to their doubts the UCIL’s sincerity about safe-mining. That is why at this point of time what is needed most for New Delhi to facilitate an early solution to the deadlock is to immediately address the concern areas of the people.
Their prime concern however, is about serious health hazards that may be caused by leaking out of radioactive substances or radiation from careless or unsafe mining. Therefore, the Centre should now concentrate more on restoring confidence among the people in Meghalaya, especially those in the uranium-mining sites by giving them an undertaking or making announcement in local newspapers and on TV that there will be no health hazards at all due to mining. It should also simultaneously assure the villagers of employment in the proposed project and those that adequate compensation would be offered if at all dis-possessed from land. source: assam tribune editorial 17.09.08
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