Report on Jadugoda uranium mine
NN - 18.03.2011 23:00
We at Jharkhandi Organization Against Radiation (JOAR) express our deep
concern and condolences to the people in Japan who have been affected by
the earthquake, tsunami and continuous explosions/meltdown in the nuclear
power stations at Fukushima Daiichi.
These anxious and sorrowful moments
have given a chance to the world to think about the nuclear industry as a
whole and how it has posed a great danger to all living beings. On the
day of earthquake, news was that every thing is all right. But the next
morning it was said that 3,000 people will be evacuated from the
Fukushima nuclear power plant. However, in the afternoon an explosion
happened and people within a 10 km radius of the plant were evacuated and
later this became 20 km, but a BBC reporter was stopped at a distance of
60km from the power
plant. It suggests that even in this situation, the nuclear industry is
trying to cover up the facts and hide their wrong and inefficient handling
of the situation. This is the situation of Japan which lies in earthquake
and Tsunami zone, had horrible experience of nuclear explosion.
In the context of the tragedy in Japan, we would like answers to our own
situation: The people of Jadugoda face danger from three tailing dams
which contain a million tonnes of radioactive mill waste and it will
remain there for ever. In case of any catastrophe, what kind of threat
will we face?
For the last 15-20 years JOAR has been raising its voice against the
danger of nuclear radiation especially from uranium mining, milling and
tailing dams.
The crisis in Japan has validated our voices against the corrupt practice
of UCIL and long term impact of radiation to the local people, the
environment and the whole ecosystem. At the same time we are horrified to
see the police brutalities on the protesters in Jaitapur. We ask that
transparency be maintained. Instead of fooling people with these mock
public
hearings, which are undemocratic and deceptive, the people's decision in
Jaitapur should be respected.
With the help of various individuals and organizations JOAR was able to
conduct research on the impact of uranium mining in Jadugoda. The
findings of this study were brought before the public, but Uranium
Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) responded by claiming that JOAR was
doing so at the
behest of anti-national elements. However, UCIL has never given logical or
scientific reply to the questions raised by JOAR or the findings of study
reports.
*Turamdih Public Hearing for mining expansion- Another farcical public
hearing*
UCIL has a proposal to extend its mining lease at the Turamdih
mines and to increase its production capacity from 3,000 metric
tones to 4,500 tones per day. The first attempt by the company
to conduct the public hearing on 19.10.2010 was foiled due to
strong protests from the people.
So the company decided to hold the public hearing on 10 March 2011, which
was in keeping with its long history of carrying out public hearings in
an undemocratic manner. On March 10, UCIL tried to hold a separate
hearing in
Turamdih by preventing the local people from participating in it, as they
did in Mahuldih in August 2005.
On March 10 this year, with the help of anti social elements and police,
UCIL tried to organize another drama of public hearing on the day of Baha
festival, which is very important for the local people.
Again, the local people, together with the Gram Shabhas, displaced
leaders such as Arjun Samad, Kanhu Murmu and others, and various
organizations including the Jharkhandi Organization for Struggling
Humans, Sarjom, Majhi Pargana Mahal, Jharkhand Krantikari Mazdoor Union
and Adibasi Mahila Samiti
stopped the mockery of public hearing. They captured the stage of the
public hearing and began the celebration of the Baha festival by dances.
People hired by UCIL tried to create a disturbance with the help of the
police, but were later forced to run away as locals opposed them, thus
preventing the
public hearing from taking place. Local newspapers have covered this news.
Ironically, newspapers in Ranchi (state capital of Jharkhand) have been
publishing stories that contradict what actually happened at the public
hearing.
A report published in Dainik Bhashkar 11 March 2011 says that in spite of
strong protest, officers of the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) have
completed the quorum of public hearing. (Please find the clipping of news
papers as attachments.)
We fear that SPCB will give No Objection Certificate on this basis.
Replying to an RTI application, the SPCB refused to give th*e *full
Environment Impact Assessment/Environment Management Plan report of the
Turamdih project, stating that it is secret information.
It is important to mention that on 31 October 2010 Dainik Bhashkar,
Ranchi, had published a report saying that Naxalites are posing threat to
UCIL. We fear that activists will be arrested or killed by falsely
accusing them of being Naxalites when there are strong protests and
agitation in future.
The manner in which UCIL and the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) have
functioned here in Jadugoda for the last 40 years is criminal.
Ex-chairperson of Atomic Energy Regulatory Board A. Gopalakrishan said in
an interview in 1999, that it is not the guard of the tailing dam but the
chairperson of the company who should be hanged first for failing to
prevent people from walking in the tailing dam.
He added, that the international nuclear safety convention which India
has signed in 1994 requires an effective separation between regulatory
body and the promotional agency, and India is clearly violating this...
Irresponsibility and irregularities in the functioning of UCIL and the
DAE has forced us to believe that they will misguide our countrymen. Our
country has witnessed the failure of nuclear establishment in handling
the cobalt radiation in Mayapuri accident in New Delhi and now they are
about to build world’s biggest nuclear reactor in coastal area of Konkan
region (Jaitapur).
We express our solidarity to all the anti-nuclear people’s movements in
Jaitapur, Kodakulam and rest of the country. We demand to stop all these
projects. We want Uranium to be left where it was buried under the earth
as in our tribal belief - "Uranium is like a snake, if you leave the
snake alone it will not harm you, but if you disturb it then it will be
troublesome".
Ghanshaym Birulee
President
JOAR-Jharkhandi Organization Against Radiation
Vill- Tilaitand,
PO/PS- Jadugoda
Dist- East Singhbhum, Jharkahnd
India
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