An eco disaster called bauxite mining
Dear Friends, Please read my article "An eco disaster called bauxite mining" which appeared in the Times of India on 31st August 2014 under Waltair Musings. I am pasting the scanned article as well as the word document below. Please feel free to comment. Vizag is surrounded on three sides by the gorgeous green Eastern Ghats. City folk driving through these hills are captivated by the scenery, the cool climate and the thick deciduous forest cover fed by rain bearing monsoon winds from the Bay of Bengal. The Adivasis live here in perfect harmony with their surroundings, as they have done for thousands of years. Many are now literate, send their kids to school, are immersed in agriculture and animal herding during the day and get a good night’s sleep after sundown. A life they do not want to exchange with any one of us. The curse of bauxite The curse of these hills is a reddish, porous, rock called “Bauxite” named after the village Les Baux in southern France where