UCIL promises mining without pollution

KADAPA: Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL) chairman Kumar Banerjee assured to take up Uranium mining as per the international standards by reducing environmental pollution.Speaking after visiting the Uranium purification plant which is under construction at M Tummalapalle of Vemula mandal on Thursday, he said there would be no harm to the local people with the establishment of the uranium plant.Recalling that they have set up a similar plant in the backward Jadugora area of Jharkhand, he claimed the project has aided in the development of the area.Earlier, he inspected the ongoing works of the Uranium plant along with the institute’s CMD Ramendar Gupta.When the officials brought to the notice of the chaiman the grievances of local people and farmers regarding water pollution due to the construction of the plant in the area, the UCIL chairman directed them to solve the problems before the II unit works of the plant began.With the construction works of the first phase of the plant coming to an end, the UCIL management prepared ground for taking up the II phase of works following a public hearing by the pollution control board. However, with the local people and farmers expressing worries over the project,  public hearing programme has been postponed twice. In this connection, the UCIL chairman Banerjee directed the plant officials to interact with the people before beginning the second phase of works.Meanwhile, YSR Congress president and Kadapa MP YS Jaganmohan Reddy called on the chairman at the Uranium plant and spoke to him about the problems of the farmers from Tummalapalle, Bhumaiahgaripalle, Rachakuntapalle, KK Kotta, Meedipentla villages who lost their lands to the plant.The UCIL chairman assured the MP to take up WORKS only after resolving the farmers’ problems.