Staff Reporter
Allege illegal mining by OMC
ANANTAPUR: The activists of district unit of Telugu Yuvatha, a youth wing of the TDP, on Saturday took out a procession alleging illegal mining activity by the Obulapuram Mining Company near Obulapuram village of D.Hirehal mandal in the district. They demanded cancellation of the mining license given to the firm.
Led by the district general secretary of Telugu Yuvatha, P. Prakash Naidu and district president, M. Srinivas the activists took out a procession from NTR statue in front of the Arts College to the camp office of the district Collector after garlanding the statue. The activists also carried baskets filled with iron ore, and raised slogans against the ‘illegal exploitation’ of the district wealth.
Exploitation
They alleged that OMC was exploiting the iron ore from the mines near Obulapuram illegally, for the past two years, with the encouragement of the State Government. They charged that the mining company had blasted an ancient temple situated on one of the hillocks in the leased area and the reserve forest notifications No. 282 and 281-A ,issued on April 15, 1890 by the revenue department had demarcated three ways leading to the temple.
Further, they criticised the State Government for not including the TDP legislators from the district in the all-party team visiting the mines on August 12. They demanded the Government to include all the TDP legislators from the district in the team to protect the interests of the district.
They urged the Government to takeover the mines and take up the mining activity itself, and spend the income on the development of the backward district. They also submitted a memorandum to the Collector.
Meanwhile, the all-party legislators team visiting the mines on Sunday comprises MLAs E. Pratap Reddy (Congress), N. Janardhan Reddy (TDP), Vijayarama Rao (TRS), N. Narasimhaiah (CPI-M), Ch. Venkat Reddy (CPI), Mumtaz Ahmed Khan (MIM), G. Kishan Reddy (BJP), K. Ramulu (Janata Party) and L. Raja Rao (BSP) and MLCs D. Rami Reddy and B. Mohan Reddy.
The team would also visit the area leased out for mining to Trishul cement company near Tadipatri on Monday.
