Uranium mining is being moved out of Gujanal village in Gokak taluk of Belagavi district after complaints from villagers that deep drilling was making borewell water smell foul.
Scientists from the central Atomic Minerals Directorate For Exploration And Research (AMDER) have confirmed to The Hindu that drilling would be moved out of inhabited areas in the village. Officers on site have clarified, however, that it is not a case of leakage of radioactive material and there was no need for alarm. “We are shifting, and this has been communicated to the district administration,” an officer said. The directorate has been doing a pilot study of uranium mining in Gujanal and two other villages in Belagavi district. While mining in Deshnoor and Suladhal are far from inhabited areas, the drilling points in Gujanal are within settlements.
Gujanal residents have been complaining that the mining was polluting groundwater. “Water in around five wells in the village has a foul smell. We are unable to drink it or use it for washing or bathing,” they said, in their complaint to the government. They suspect that coolant and other chemicals used in drilling have seeped into the water. Balesh Mugalihal, a resident, said some families who had consumed the water were suffering from acidity and headache. Maruti Ganachari, another resident, said: “We are not opposed to uranium mining as long as the chemicals do not mix with drinking water.” B.G. Prakash, senior scientist in charge of the operations in the village, has assured villagers that mining sites will be moved out of the inhabited areas.
Three years ago, AMDER selected three villages in Belagavi district — Gujanal, Deshnoor and Suladhal — for the pilot. Preliminary studies revealed that in Gujanal village, the soil contained 20 gm of uranium in one tonne of soil. This quantity (20 parts per million) is considered very low uranium grade. However, this can be commercially mined to produce between 250 and 350 tonnes of uranium per year.
