Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore (SP)

Bangalore, Jul 12: A team comprising of experts and activists drawn from various fields will tour Tumkur, Chitradurga and Bellary district, to study the extent of losses caused by mining activities. The group that proposes to take up this three-day trip from July 25 is named as Mining Nationalization Struggle Committee.

The committee office-bearers, speaking at a press conference held here on Friday July 11 said that about a million tonnes of iron ore is being transported out of the state every day at present. Therefore, it has become necessary to restrain this activity to ensure that this invaluable asset is made available for use even by future generations, they argued. They also said that the committee wants to study the adverse effects the unbridled and illegal mining caused, to the democratic fabric of the state, on fields like day-to-day lives of the people, agriculture, roads, health and environment.

Agni Sridhar of Karunadu Sene said that officials of all the departments are hand in glove with the miners in the illegal mining, as a result of which precious resources are being looted. China has banned iron ore mining since long and imports ore from India while USA imports ore from India at the rate of Rs 9,000 per tonne and sells steel back to Indina by charging Rs 48,000 per tonne, inflicting huge losses on the country. He added that the committee will have over 50 members including Sanehalli Swamiji, Jnanpith awardee Dr U R Anantmurthy, Champa, Devanur Mahadev, Prof S G Siddaramaiah etc.,

CPI (M) leader G N Nagaraj demanded ban on illegal mining and criticized the revenue minister for trying to privatize the survey work. The state government, instead of passing the blame on the union government, should ensure that only the government owned firms indulge in mining.

Various other leaders, who addressed the media, said that they will jointly fight the menace of illegal mining to the end, duly supported by local people and will not restrict their struggle to dharnas and protests alone. They criticized the conspiracy hatched by the mining barons for trying to hold the entire state assembly to ransom. We need not allow our mineral resources to be burgled for enabling a few miners to fly by their own helicopters, they declared.