Uranium factory damages crops, poses health risks to people

Kadapa: The Uranium Factory Of Uranium Corporation Of India Limited (UCIL) located at M Tummalapalli village of Vemula mandal has been causing huge crop losses in the surrounding areas. Moreover, the people living in mainly in villages like Kottala, Vemula,Tummalapalli are facing serious health disorders due to the factory.

People are complaining that the seepage from the Tailing pond of Uranium mines leading to such pathetic situation. The UCIL has established its unit in M. Tummalapalli on 20th November 2007 and started production from 20th April 2012.

Farmers began complaining to the government since 2018 that the seepage from the Tailpond of the unit has been causing vast pollution to the ground water and also serious health-hazards to the people. The UCIL management and the government did not respond to the complaints of the people and various organisations organised agitations on the issue.

"Our boys are prone to several diseases. We have no hope of getting good yields from out agriculture lands despite investing huge amounts due to severe pollution in ground waters. If the same situation continued for some more months, we have no other option except to leave the villages,'' said P Ramalinga Reddy a farmer of Vemula to The Hans India.

District Collector CH Harikiran setup an expert committee comprising officials from Agriculture, Ground water, Mines and Geology departments which visited the Tummalapalli and sent report to the government on 21st, June 2018.

Kadapa MP Avinash Reddy also lodged a complaint with AP Pollution Control Board and it had issued notice to the UCIL. Later, on July 17, Collector Ch Harikiran conducted review meeting with UCIL management in which MP Avinash Reddy, and people from effected villages attended.

Meanwhile, following the directions of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, the APPCB has setup a 11 member committee comprising Bombay based Atomic Energy Regulatory Board Nuclear Project Safety Division Head LR Bishnoi, National Geographical Research Institute (NGRI), Hyderabad senior principal scientist Dr EVSSK Babu and others.

The team is expected to visit Tummalapalli on 9th & 10th September to study ground reality. District Collector CH Harikiran said that a detailed report will be submitted to the Chief Minister on 11th September after the visit of the team.