Hyderabad: Communist Party of India (Marxist) state secretary, T Veerabhadram has raised concern over illegal uranium mining in the Nallamala forests.
In a public statement issued on Sunday, the senior CPM leader decried the evacuation of tribals from the forest and warned them of a potential people’s movement if uranium exploration under the guise of animal conservation was not immediately halted.
Recalling how various people’s organisations vehemently opposed the Department of Atomic Energy’s attempts to conduct uranium exploration in Achampet, Lingal, Balmoor, Padara, Mannanur, and Kollapur in 2019, Veerabhadram stated that the state government has passed a resolution against the exploration due to the environmental hazards it posed to tribals, wildlife, and the Krishna River.
As per a New Indian Express report, he stated that uranium mining will have a significant impact on 115 Chenchu hamlets and the 3,000 tribal families that live there, as well as a 2,500 square kilometer region in the Nagarjunsagar and Amrabad Tiger Reserves.
Veerabhadram urged the Union government to halt any attempts to undertake any form of exploration in the Nallamala woods immediately.