Cancel tungsten mining in Madurai district, CM Stalin tells PM Modi
Chennai (PTI): Staunchly opposing the Centre's award of tungsten mining rights in Madurai district, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Friday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to cancel it and asserted that the state government will not allow mining there considering aspects such as a bio-diversity heritage site and people's opposition.
A notified bio-diversity heritage site falls under one of the areas proposed for mining, and commercial mining in densely populated villages will definitely affect the people, who fear that their livelihood may be lost forever and hence, the state would never allow mining there, Stalin said, writing to Modi.
Against the backdrop of protests by the people against proposed mining, Stalin pointed to the 'grim situation in Madurai district due to the Union government’s award of tungsten mining rights,' and requested the immediate intervention of PM Modi to cancel it.
The state had already raised its concerns on such auctioning of mining rights of critical and strategic minerals, through a letter dated 03.10.2023. "But unfortunately, the Union Minister of Parliamentary affairs, Coal and Mines in his letter dated 02.11.2023 had rejected them, mentioning that the auction of critical minerals by Ministry of Mines cannot be withheld, in the larger interests of the country," Stalin said in his letter.
Meanwhile, the Union Ministry of Mines has declared Hindustan Zinc Limited as the preferred bidder of the Nayakkarpatti tungsten block (critical and strategic mineral) under Tranche IV on 07.11.2024. This tungsten block comprises Kavattayampatty, Ettimangalam, A Vallalapatty, Arittapatty, Kidaripatty and Narasingampatty villages.
Among them, Arittapatti is a notified bio-diversity heritage site and is famous for archaeological monuments including cave temples, sculptures, Jain symbols, Tamil Brahmi Scripts and Pancha Pandavar stone beds. Any mining activity will cause irreparable damage to these sites.
The CM said: "In addition, commercial mining in such densely populated villages will definitely affect the people in these villages. This has caused immense anguish to the people, who fear that their livelihood may be lost forever. Hence, the Government of Tamil Nadu would never allow any such mining to be undertaken in these areas."
Furthermore, Stalin said: "Considering the situation, I urge you to instruct the Ministry of Mines to cancel the award of tungsten mining rights given to Hindustan Zinc Limited in Madurai District. I also request you to instruct the Ministry of Mines to desist from floating any bids for mining without the consent of the concerned state government."
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Bihar: Over 150 children fall ill after consuming 'mid-day meal' in Saharsa
Saharsa (PTI): More than 150 children were taken ill after allegedly consuming food that was part of the mid-day meal in a school in Bihar’s Saharsa district, a senior official said on Thursday.
The incident occurred at a middle school in Baluaha village of the district.
The official said that 115 children were undergoing treatment at the Sadar Hospital, while around 50 students were admitted to Mahishi Public Health Centre.
“We received information that several children fell ill after consuming the mid-day meal in Baluaha. The children were initially treated at the primary health centre, but later, many were referred to the Sadar Hospital,” Saharsa District Magistrate Deepesh Kumar told reporters.
“According to doctors, the health condition of the children has improved, but they will be kept under observation for some time. There is no need to panic. Some kids are having mild fever. They are being treated accordingly,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile, family members of some children claimed that a snake was found in the container in which cooked pulses was stored at the school.
Of the 545 students present in the school, 200 had already eaten their meals by the time the snake was spotted, and later complained of stomach ache and vomiting, they said.
Regarding the claims, the DM said food samples have been collected from the school.
“We will be able to comment on this only after the results of the tested samples arrive,” he said.
