The ongoing uranium mining issue in and around the region of Nallamala forest is turning up into a debatable topic as it could dimish nearly 20,000 acres of forest land that incorporates both Amrabad Tiger Reserve in Telangana and Nagarjuna Sagar and Srisailam tiger reserve in Andhra Pradesh as well. The proposal of exploration of uranium over 83 sq km (20k acres) in Amrabad Tiger reserve was given by the Ministry of Environment as in-principle to the Ministry of atomic energy.
The fear among locals: The permission by the Central government made locals worry and ended up panicked. Some of the tribal people like Chechu’s totally depend upon forest resources and they are in deep distress as this uranium mining could take away their land from them and put an end to their tribal life. The locals near Nallamala said that the government promised a lot while constructing a dam, but nothing has been done. Instead, they come up with uranium issue. The uncertainty of what is happening to their land bring tribes together out of fear.
A threat to wildlife and nature: Moreover, there is a grave danger for Tigers as the uranium mining process can harm them. The catastrophe caused by uranium mining can be labelled as – if Nallamala is gone, soon we all will be gone. The lives of Telangana and Andhra is at stake if uranium mining happens, leaving Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar reservoirs polluted. The mining can adversely affect the serenity and ecology of Nallamala forest ecosystem which happens to be the home for many animals like Tigers and various medicinal herb plants.
Anti-Uranium Campaign begins: Many environmentalists, social activists have joined hands with the locals of Amrabad to stop the disastrous action by the government. All of them, unanimously, planned for an anti-uranium movement followed by padayatras and educational awareness tours. Yesterday, the working president of the TRS, KTR tweeted and assured that he will discuss the issue with the Chief Minister KCR as many, including students, took part in the campaigns against uranium mining.
The government’s point of view: Since India has uranium deposits which are very few in number and also the small deposits cannot meet the electricity requirement, scientists have found new uranium deposits in satates of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. The department fo Atomic Energy says that India is in need of using uranium deposits for producing 40,000 megawatts of nuclear power by 2030.
Export of Uranium: Currently India has nuclear agreements with Russia (since the 1990s), Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Canada, Namibia, Nigeria etc. The mentioned countries export uranium to India. From the past few months Australia has agreed to export Uranium to India as Australia is one of the largest uranium exports. Now, the higher deposit of Uranium found in Nallamala is leaving the government perplexed over the concerned issue of locals. Nallamala is spread to five districts of Andhra and two districts of Telangana.
Support from Film fraternity: Actors like Vijay Deverakona, Samantha, Jwala Gutta, Randeep Hooda, Sekhar Kammula and other leading celebrities have stepped forward to campaign against uranium mining. The actors have preached public about the adverse effects of the process on social media and made sure their voices are heard louder. In fact, our strong economy is nothing but a greater well-being of mankind. Protecting our nature is our responsibility. Let us save Nallamala and contribute to a strong economy.
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