Ready for talks on Alappad mining: Kerala minister

Kozhikode:bowingtoburgeoning public protest, Kerala government on Saturday expressed willingness to hold conciliatory talks on the mineral sand mining which is leading to ‘the disappearance’ of Alappad coastal village in Kollam district.

According to Minister for Fisheries, J Mercykutty Amma, being a public sector enterprise, the Indian Rare Earth (IRE) should engage in responsible mining without affecting the erosion of shoreline in the area. “Being a public sector undertaking, the IRE must do the mining in a responsible manner. They should engage in mining by protecting the shore. This is what the people want and the government stands by the people,” the minister told media persons here on Saturday.

According to the minister, the environmental committee of the legislative Assembly has already done an impact study. The committee recommended sustainable mining. “Industries ministry will take necessary actions to initiate discussion with the protesters in this regard,” Mercykutty Amma said.

The present government has taken measures to build the groynes (pulimuttu). Instructions have been given to start the work by inviting tenders, the minister said.

Also on Saturday, Minister for Industries EP Jayarajan said the ministry will look into the issues and take a decision accordingly. “Shore erosion was not noticed there earlier. We are aware of the situation. We will examine how the situation developed now and take decisions accordingly,” Jayarajan told reporters in Trivandrum.

People’s Protest Council, which is spearheading the anti-mining campaign, said it was not in favour of any discussion until the mining is stopped. The council, which has been on a relay hunger strike for over two months, pointed out that earlier talks with the IRE did not reach a settlement.

“A fresh dialogue would serve no purpose until mining is stopped completely. The dialogues are a waste of time unless the company stops mining. All previous dialogues have ended with the society being cheated,” said one of the protesters.

In order to save the remaining villages, residents of Alappad and nearby hamlets organised relay hunger strike at Vellanathuruthu for the last 73 days demanding a complete halt to the mining activities. Agitators claim hamlet after hamlet were ‘disappearing’ from the map due to mining activities by the Indian Rare Earths (IRE), a central public sector undertaking, and state government-owned Kerala Minerals and Metals Limited (KMML) since 1960s.