The Hindu : Karnataka News : ‘Lives made miserable by mining’

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 28, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Karnataka

Karnataka

‘Lives made miserable by mining’

Staff Correspondent

Illegal mining going on at the cost of agriculture: CPI(M)

SANDUR (BELLARY DISTRICT): Flouting of norms by the companies engaged in mining activities, rampant illegal mining and adverse impact on people, environment and ecology were some of the main aspects noticed by the Forum for Nationalisation of Mining.

Addressing presspersons here on Sunday about the observations made by the forum after visiting mining areas in Tumkur, Chitradurga and Bellary districts, G.N. Nagaraj, CPI (M) State Secretariat member, said that it was shocking to note that people’s lives had been made miserable due to mining. Natural resources had been looted and the environment had been affected by mining, he added. He said that illegal mining was going on at the cost of agriculture. “The dust while transporting the ore, from the mines and the dumping yard has affected agricultural yield in land around mining areas. A major portion of cultivable land has been converted into dumping yards, bringing down the area under agriculture considerably,” he said.

President of Karnataka Sarvodaya Mandali Satyavrata said that the Government should stop issuing new mining leases/licences.

G.N. Siddanagouda, Secretary of the State unit of the CPI, said that the demands of the forum included urging the State and Union Government to curb illegal mining, imposing ban on export, cancelling all the lease agreements entered into with private mining companies and to come out with a new policy on nationalisation of mining.

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

Karnataka