Khasi Students’ Union opposes uranium mining in Meghalaya

Khasi Students’ Union opposes uranium mining in Meghalaya

A CORRESPONDENT

SHILLONG: The South West Khasi Hills district unit of Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) has said that it is no surprise that a packet containing uranium was found from the border town of Moreh in Manipur. “The Union is not surprised that such a packet was recovered from Moreh because in the years gone by the Atomic Mineral Division and the Uranium Corporation India Limited (UCIL) has been using individuals to mine uranium from the Mawthabah area with an aim to fool the people,” KSU West Khasi Hills unit president, Forwardman Nongrem alleged.

According to Nongrem, in 2016 the Meghalaya Cabinet had decided to revoke its earlier decision to grant permission to UCIL to conduct pre-mining activities in the uranium site.

It may be mentioned that in 2009 that the State government had leased around 422 hectares to UCIL in Domiasiat and Mawthabah in South West Khaki Hills district for exploratory mining.

The KSU also said that in 2018, the UCIL had closed down its office in Shillong but the Union did not trust the intention either of the government or the corporation.

Alleging that “from time to time the UCIL has been fooling the people of the State by saying that it is not involved in uranium mining in the State, the Union added, “but their actions prove otherwise which has come out in the open with the discovery of the packet from Moreh.

The KSU has asked the Government to take action against people involved in smuggling the packet of uranium to Moreh since they did not respect the decision of the Meghalaya government.

The Union also said that the State government and the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) should not only oppose uranium mining in the State but also make stand clear to the Centre.

“The district council should knock the doors of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change over the issue,” the KSU leader said.

Also read: Meghalaya news

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