Jaduguda residents object to renewal of uranium mining lease

Jamshedpur, May 27 (ANI): Residents of Jaduguda and nearby areas of Jamshedpur in Jharkhand staged a mass protest on Tuesday against the renewal of lease of uranium mining rights by the Uranium Corporation of India (UCIL).

People protested on the sidelines of a public hearing of the UCIL held in Jamshedpur to discuss renewal of lease of mining areas in Jadugoda.

Locals and members of Jharkhand Organisation against Radiation (JOAR) shouted slogans to register their protest against renewal of mining and alleged they had been harmed by uranium radiation in a lot of ways.

Members and supporters of JOAR have been spearheading the anti-radiation movement and voicing their objection to the renewal of mining.

"There are a lot of problems here. Women are not able conceive. Handicapped children are born. A lot of people are dying because of cancer and tuberculosis caused due to radiation and other odd affects of Uranium," said Manoj Kumar, a resident.

However, the UCIL dismissed the allegations of the NGOs that people were suffering from radiation effects of uranium mining.

S B Momik, General Manager, Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL), Jaduguda said that the grade of mining done by the corporation is not the cause of illness of the people.he uranium deposits at Jaduguda in Singhbhum district of Jharkhand, has been under exploitation since 1962.

The uranium deposits at Bhatin and Narwapahar are currently being explored and mined.re from the three deposits is treated in a mill at Jaduguda and the annual yield of uranium is 300 tonnes which is more than sufficient to meet expected requirements of Atomic Energy Commission for decades. (ANI)