KASARAGOD (Kerala) | March 24, 2015:
With the operation of the laterite mining unit under Kerala Clays and Ceramic Products (KCCP) Ltd. at Karinthalam in the district coming to a halt two months ago, leading trade unions have called for resuming operations to protect the public sector unit.
Trade union office-bearers told a press conference here on Monday that the INTUC and the CITU had decided to launch on Wednesday a vehicle campaign from Choyyankod to Thalayadukkam.
The functioning of the unit with 50 employees and 25 temporary workers had come to a halt after a “popular uprising” steered by various political and social organisations on the grounds that unbridled mining was leading to environmental degradation in the locality.
The livelihood of around 500 employees of KCCP units in and outside the district, and nearly 3,000 of their dependents was at stake, the trade union office-bearers said.
The laterite unit, situated on over 50 acres of land, was taken over by the KCCP in November 2003. The mining operations began in December next year. Months later, environmental activists launched agitations against the company’s bauxite mining unit at nearby Kadaladipara.
(Source: http://www.thehindu.com/)