MADURAI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has taken a clear stand to support the people of Arittapatti and surrounding villages in Melur taluk of Madurai district who are strongly opposing the tungsten mining project.
BJP State president Mr.K.Annamalai had written a letter to Union Minister of Coal and Mines Mr.G.Kishan Reddy on December 7th 2024 giving him full details about the villagers’ concerns because Arittapatti and nearby villages have been notified as biodiversity heritage site and he also urged the Union Minister to consider the villagers’ plea to call off the Central government’s decision to mine tungsten in and around Arittapatti and other villages near Melur.
Madurai City unit BJP district president Mr.Maha.Suseendhran told reporters at the collectorate in Madurai today- on December 9th 2024- that the double game of DMK government in tungsten mining project tender issue will be exposed soon by the party State president Mr.K.Annamalai himself with documents and proof on how the State government kept silent for several months on this issue when questions were asked about objections before the tender process began.
“Today evening, we are meeting the Madurai District Collector along with our party’s senior leaders including our State general secretary Prof.Dr.Raama.Sreenivasan and others. Our party will stand with the people of Melur region in this issue. The people there are objecting tungsten mining project because of nature, heritage, history, biodiversity etc. We are also asking to stop the tungsten project because BJP will support the farmers’ issues. But, at the same time, our State president Mr.K.Annamalai will come here soon to meet the people directly and personally, and to expose DMK government’s silence with related documents. The DMK government is putting the blame on Modi government at the Centre for every issue raised by people here. Can survey for tungsten mining in Madurai district be done without the permission of thasildhar, revenue officials and others?,” the BJP Madurai district president Mr.Maha.Suseendhran had questioned today.
WHAT ANNAMALAI WROTE ABOUT ARITTAPATTI?
The letter written by BJP State president Mr.K.Annamalai to Union Mining Minister was circulated to the media in Madurai by the party unit here.
“The Ministry of Mines had sought inputs from the State government of Tamil Nadu in February 2024 and until November 2024 they were not provided with any objections to the tender for mining Tungsten in Arittapatti and surrounding villages in Melur area of Madurai district. The State government of Tamil Nadu’s failure to provide information on dissent to the Government of India led to the release of the tender to the successful bidder, and the villagers have now requested the Central government to call off this tender. Notably Arittapatti and nearby villages are affected by environmental and ecological distress because of decades of mining activities in and around these villages thereby resulting the people’s outcry. We kindly request you to consider the villagers’ plea to call off the central government’s decision to mine tungsten in and around Arittapatty and other villages,” Mr.Annamalai has pointed out in his letter to the Union Minister of Coal and Mines and also stressed that people of about 10 villages are objecting because it is a notified biodiversity site., and the villages include Kidaripatty, A.Vallalapatti, Ettimangalam, Karvattayampatty etc.
