TURA, May 2 � Opposition to uranium mining inside Balpakram National Park in South Garo Hills is gaining momentum with all major NGOs along with student and social groups coming together to protest the move by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to go ahead with its project.
The Garo Students Union and the United Achik Peace Forum (UAPF), a conglomerate of all leading civil societies, have dispatched urgent petitions to the Union Minister for Environment and Forests, Jairam Ramesh, seeking his intervention to stop the proposed uranium exploration at Balpakram National Park.
The GSU and the UAPF have pointed out that the decision to denotify an 8 km stretch of the Rongcheng Plateau inside the national park is a pre-step to drilling which ought to be opposed.
The GSU and the Forum further stated that mining in any form inside the national park would be considered sacrilegious.
Another important aspect that the Forum has put forward to the Environment Minister is the danger to India�s national animal � the Royal Bengal Tiger � that is already endangered and has a dwindling population inside the Park.
�The World Wildlife Foundation has put the Royal Bengal Tiger on the endangered list and the massive �Save the Tiger� campaign has been launched and has gathered momentum. It is the duty of the Union Government to capitalise on the campaign and not sabotage it,� stated the Forum in its letter to Ramesh.
The danger to human health from uranium mining in Garo Hills was also raised in its letter. The Forum has expressed concern over contamination of the air, land and the streams from radioactive substances should mining be given a go ahead.
The Forum has resolved to oppose in strongest terms the decision to denotify the 8 km stretch of Balpakram National Park and exploratory drilling by the DAE. It has also resolved to request the Government of India to stop the proposed exploitation of uranium at Balpakram based on the facts stated and premonition of the perceived consequences.
