VISAKHAPATNAM | March 25, 2015:

Notwithstanding strong opposition of Girijans of Sarugudu Gram Panchayat on the proposal for exploiting laterite in Asanagiri and Sundarakota area, the State Government seemed to go ahead with the mining and decided to hold a public hearing on the project at Sundarakota on Wednesday.

The public hearing was originally scheduled to be held on February 19 and was postponed after the Human Rights Forum which is supporting the Girijans pointed out that the notification was mired in mistakes — like public hearing scheduled to be held both at Asanagiri and Sundarakota at the same time on the same date and no publicity was given about the exercise. Though the Government officially did not accept its mistakes, it had postponed the February 19 exercise and is holding it on Wednesday.

Villagers of Asanagiri, a totally Girijan village, and of other villagers, who are also overwhelmingly Girijans, are opposing laterite mining since it would uproot them from their habitation, destroy their crops and cause pollution. But their main concern is about the caves at Asanagiri, said to be ancient and much revered by them as deities of Gangalamma and Jagaramamm Devata are located there. There are seven caves in the Gangallam Konda but only four are accessible. The Girijans had not let the outside world know about the caves till now to maintain their sanctity. But mining of laterite certainly posing a threat to the caves and the temples there, the Asanagiri villagers revealed the existence of caves in a bid to save them.

HRF secretary V.S. Krishna said the laterite mining would violate many laws including the V Schedule, the Forest Rights Act, the PESA and the Forest Conservation Act apart from destroying environment.

A day before the public hearing, police personnel in large numbers have been sent to Sundarakota and villagers of Asanagiri were counselled by the Nathavaram police not to create trouble at the public hearing, according to reports reaching here. But the villagers are determined to oppose mining. Most of the villagers of Sundarakota are also opposing the mining proposal since laterite mining being done on a small five-hectare plot near the village is already causing them a lot of problems.

(Source: http://www.thehindu.com/)