Tamil Nadu: Madurai Villagers Protest Against Tungsten Mining Project, Demand Its Cancellation

Marching from Narasingampatti village to Madurai Post Office, the demonstrators against Tungsten mining project voiced concerns over the project's environmental and social impact.

Residents from 40 villages, including Melur, staged a massive protest against a proposed Tungsten mining project in Madurai district on Monday. The demonstrators, voicing concerns over the project's environmental and social impact, marched from Narasingampatti village to Madurai Post Office as part of their agitation.

The villagers claim the mining project poses a significant threat to their livelihoods and the local ecosystem. Highlighting potential environmental degradation and displacement, they urged authorities to reconsider the project. In anticipation of the protest, security was heightened across Madurai to ensure law and order.

 

Tungsten Mining Zone

Earlier, Hindustan Zinc Limited, a subsidiary of the Vedanta group, secured central government approval to commence tungsten mining in the region. This decision was faced by strong opposition from residents who have been actively protesting against the project. Earlier, the state assembly passed a special resolution opposing the mine.

However, locals from 48 villages, including Arithapatti, are demanding that the area be formally declared a protected biodiversity and agricultural zone. Arithapatti residents urged the government to issue an official order to safeguard the region from mining activities. 

Partipan, a farmer of the village, as per ANI said, "The Tamil Nadu government has passed a resolution in the assembly against the tungsten mining project. However, we are unsure how effective this resolution will be in protecting our village. In the past, when there were protests against hydrocarbon projects in the Delta districts, the Tamil Nadu government declared those districts as protected agricultural zones, which helped safeguard them."