VIZAG matters - Sohan Hatangadi's Blog

Day of dread We have been dreading this day since the last ten years. We finally got the notice today. It said simply “By the powers vested in me by the Girijan Government Land Acquisition Authority, you are hereby directed to vacate your house within 30 days of this notice and hand over your home and land to the representative of the Draconian Girijan Governor”. The small print went on to give details of the meager compensation that would be paid and the office we should contact for assistance in relocation and rehabilitation. We have lived in Pandurangapuram for half a century and this has come as a shock. My friends in MVP colony, Kirlmpudi, Daspalla Hills have all got similar notices. Not suitable for homes The past few decades have seen rampant mining of our hills and also massive acquisition of lands for industry in the foothills and rural areas. Land for growing food has become scarce. Much of the food is imported. Industrialists and big business have managed to dilu...

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...

The attack on NGOs based on a mysterious report from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) which no one appears to have read, appears to be a case of intimidation sponsored by vested interests! Little bits of the "report" are being leaked into the media implying that NGOs are "anti development" and "anti national". That they get money from abroad with the intention of destroying our country!  This part about foreign funding is a sham because a respected NGOs gets funds legitimately through normal financial channels and provide full data to the government about their sources. In fact the banking formalities for NGOs is much more stringent than those imposed on business houses.  In sharp contrast several dubious corporations and politicians channel vast amounts of money into their coffers by dubious means. Isn't the mining industry getting any foreign funding? How else do you explain companies like "ANRAK" (RAK stands for  Ras Al Khaimah) - a mid...

First please read the article in The Hindu with headline: " Anrak in talks with Glencore to source bauxite ore?"  at the following link. http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/article2760124.ece If APMDC mines Jerrala and supply Bauxite to Anrak here is what we can expect. TRANSPORTATION NIGHTMARE The ANRAK website has this sentence at the end of it:  "A newly laid road is envisaged which will be traveling for 15 km in forest land starting from Jerrela village to the state highway near Pederu. From there it is connected to NH5 for onward movement to the proposed plant location." I could not figure out how they will reach Makavaripalem from Chintapalle via Paderu and NH5. This is like going to Delhi from Mumbai via Chennai. Instead, it is obvious that they will come down via Lambasinghi and take a left before  Narasipatnam. I understand that they have already started making a road diagonally from a few kms before ...