Andhra Pradesh - Kurnool   

Rock formation under threat

Staff Reporter

Dismay over move to set up silica sand extraction unit

THREAT TO ENVIRONMENT: The Orvakal rock formation where a silica sand extraction plant was proposed in Kurnool district.

KURNOOL: The proposal to set up a silica sand unit near Rock Garden at Orvakal in Kurnool district has raised eyebrows. The news that a leading glass manufacturing industrial house was planning to establish a silica sand extraction unit was welcomed by a section of the public as it would generate a lot of employment and business activity in the area.

But environmentalists were shocked by the news that the unit close to the rock garden would trigger an environmental disaster. The pollution from the unit might spell doom of the rock garden, which was set with great pains by the Tourism Department on 200 acres.

Tourist spot

Also, they were more concerned because the silica extraction unit would devour the most beautiful rock formations within no time. The Orvakal rock formations have attracted the tourists and filmmakers from different parts of the State.

Instead of feeding the most majestic rock formations as raw material to the silica extraction unit, the range should be preserved as natural monuments, they suggest.

The environmentalists say that the unit should be relocated elsewhere so that industry would extract raw material from a less important location without causing environmental degradation.

They have demanded the government to preserve the Orvakal range for posterity considering it the precious gift of the nature, which cannot be regained once lost.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Rock formation under threat

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu