Villagers protesting pollution invited to public hearing on mining

As the protest against the pollution caused by mining companies in the 10 villages of Chitradurga district entered the 56th day, a proposal by Vedanta Limited to open up 175 acres of nearby forest to mine iron ore has rankled the farmers and villagers.Over the last two months, farmers and residents from Bheemasamudra, Kadleguddu, Bommenahalli, Nellikatte, Haliyuru and other villages have staged protests and blocked lorries carrying iron ore from mines in Chitradurga and Holalkere taluks.The Jantakal Iron Ore mine proposed by Vedanta is billed as a 102.25 crore project. The mine spread over 175 acres in Hirekandavadi and Megalahalli villages has several villages within 5-km radius.The mineral transportation route map submitted by the company highlights the Hirekandavadi-Bheemasamudra road as well as panchayat road. The environment impact assessment has, however, proposed some mitigation measures.Bengaluru | C&D waste to be managed scientifically: KSPCBThe Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has scheduled a public hearing for the project on October 16. Activists, however, expressed apprehension that once again, the concerns of the villagers will be overruled.In several representations, Jana Sangrama Parishath, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and other organisations have demanded a solution.“High levels of environment pollution, series of accidents, crop losses caused by dust, roads devastated by movement of heavy lorries and the endless noise has forced us to stop vehicles from entering villages,” the Sangha said in a letter to the Chitradurga deputy commissioner on September 3.Shailendra Patil of the Parishath said. “We are not against mining. But we don’t want the development to happen at the cost of people. Villagers here are struggling to breathe due to the high levels of pollution,” Patil said.During its meeting on September 10, the District Task Force on Mining led by the deputy commissioner took note of the protests.While promising solutions, the task force told villagers to allow 100 vehicles per day in view of a court order. Further the task force recorded that 7.15 lakh tonnes of iron ore has been transported through the roads in the five months since April.Patil said the numbers do not capture the horror of the people living through the pollution. “Every 30 seconds there is a lorry passing in the road and the dust rises up without a break. Can’t mining happen without affecting the life of villagers,” he asked.

Source: Deccan Herald