The Human Rights Forum (HRF) has demanded Andhra Pradesh Government to adopt a resolution in the State Assembly stating in explicit and unambiguous terms that no attempt will be made henceforth towards survey and exploration for uranium deposits in the Kappatralla Reserve Forest (RF) in Kurnool district.
The HRF said the recent assurance given by the State Government owing to the protests against exploration for uranium by the villagers not to take any further action on the processing of uranium mining is only a transient measure.
HRF Andhra Pradesh vice-president U.G. Srinivasulu, State Secretary U.M. Devendra Babu and Andhra Pradesh and T.G. Coordination Committee member V.S. Krishna, in a statement on Wednesday (February 5, 2025), said a 13-member team of HRF visited Kappatralla, Nellibandha and P. Kotakonda in Devanakonda mandal on February 2, 2025 and spoke with locals. The team also visited the Koulutla Chennakesava Swamy temple located on a hill in the reserve forest.
“The local people are of the strong opinion that any mining for uranium in the area will cause grave injury to their health and destroy farming which is their livelihood,’’ they said.
Drilling of 20 borewells was undertaken in the Kappatralla RF by the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD) during 2017. A fresh proposal was initiated by the AMD recently to drill 68 borewells to assess uranium reserves in the same area.
“HRF is of the view that uranium mining is an unacceptable risk to humanity and the environment and it is unviable in social and ethical terms. Uranium mining poisons the land, depletes and contaminates groundwater tables. It is dirty and perilous and leaves a lethal legacy for future generations,’’ the HRF said.
According to the HRF, any exploration and mining in the Kappatralla area will have a deleterious impact on local hydrology. “The Kappatralla RF, stretching over 1157 acres is catchment for the Gajuladinne Project (GDP) renamed as Sanjeevaiah Sagar, a medium irrigation project in Gonegandla mandal. The Project is part of the Handri-Neeva Sujala Sravathi that provides irrigation and drinking water in the region including several villages in the mandals of Pathikonda, Devanakonda, Kodumur and Gonegandla,’’ they said.
The HRF called for an immediate stoppage of all attempts to assess uranium reserves in the Kappatralla area.
Published – February 05, 2025 01:48 pm IST