Get us out of here, say Gogi residents

People of K Gogi village in Yadgir have demanded that they should be shifted out before starting the uranium processing plant there.

“We have no objection if the unit comes up in the village. Causing loss to the nation is also not our intention. Also, we are not strong enough to face big companies. We are worried about the consequences for our future generations. Please shift our village,” the people told Ananth Hegde Ashisara, chairman of the Western Ghats Task Force and vice-chairman of the Bio-Diversity Board, who visited the village on Saturday.

Allauddin Babu Pasha, who spoke on behalf of the people in Gogi, said uranium testing had begun in the village and many people here were already suffering from various ailments because of this.

Effluents from the uranium testing site are being let into the tank in the village, thereby contaminating the water. If this is the situation in the initial stages, Pasha feared a worse scenario when full-fledged uranium mining begins.

Ashisara said that since this was a Central government project, the State has to give land as sought. Land acquisition has started accordingly, he said.

He informed that approval for the project was yet to be given by the Union Ministry of Forests, besides the Central and the State pollution control boards. Also, the proposal is yet to come up before the Mines and Geology department. 

The Task Force chairman said he would submit a report to the government about the ground realities in Gogi and the effects on the environment in 15 days. The matter will also come up for discussion at the meeting of the Bio-Diversity Board on September 14.

Ashisara said he would meet the State Pollution Control Board chairman on September 12 to discuss the issue. He said the opinion of the local people would be taken into consideration, before undertaking the project.

Uranium testing was now being conducted at a depth of 205 metre and the percentage of availability was only 0.1, said Ashisara.

Meanwhile, some in the meeting said that it was only an eyewash. They said the village does not even have proper drinking water facilities. Also, the radiation from the uranium processing unit could prove disastrous for the life forms in the vicinity.

They said: “We do not want a cancer hospital. But, educate us about the precautionary measures to prevent cancer.”

Ashisara said Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) had been asked to ensure effluents do not mix with the tank water. He said the people’s representatives had the right to pass a resolution against the setting up of the uranium plant.

Managing Director of UCIL, N M Bahal, mines manager Punyamurthy and others were present.