KURNOOL: A rally was held on Saturday with the slogan of ‘Save Kappatralla’ by people from 10 villages in Devanakonda mandal in protest against the Centre’s approval for uranium exploration in the Reserve Forest area. The rally was taken out by the villagers with the support of Left parties, civil organisations and students demanding the immediate stoppage of drilling in the forest area.
The Centre has granted permission to drill 68 boreholes in the area to assess uranium reserves, a decision that has alarmed Kappatralla villagers, who fear that mining operations could devastate their communities and farmland.
The Director of Atomic Minerals has permitted the exploration activities, and the State forest department is cooperating with the project. However, local people continue to voice their concerns, having already approached the district collector last Monday to seek intervention.
Local farmers fear that their agriculture land might lose the fertility. Villagers from Kappatralla, P Kotakonda, Bethapalli, Chellela Chelimala, Madapuram, Gundlakonda, and other neighbouring areas attended meeting at the Koulutla Chennakesava Swamy temple to express their solidarity with the stir.
According to Kappatralla village Sarpanch Chenama Naidu, the area in question encompasses 468.25 hectares of land in the Pathikonda Section of Adoni Forest Range.
During the previous government, the AMD reportedly sought approval for drilling on 6.80 hectares of forest land, a process that local people claim was kept secret.