Environment Support Group petitions organisations in Japan to join the
protest
By our staff reporter
Monday, August 21, 2000: 1621 hrs: The Environment Support Group (ESG), a city-based Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), has written to Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, scheduled to visit Bangalore this evening, to stop the import of iron ore excavated in the Kudremukh National Park in Karnataka. Japan is a major importer of iron ore from India.
The group has also requested Friends of the Earth, an NGO in Japan, to join in their protest. ESG has asked the NGO to write a similar letter to Mori, the Union Minister of Environment and Forests and the Chief Minister of Karnataka, protesting against iron ore import.
In its letter to the Japanese Prime Minister, ESG has asked him to speak against a “possible extension of mining lease” in the Kudremukh National Park.
“The Kudremukh National Park in the Western Ghats forests is known for its rich bio-diversity and invaluable ecosystems. Three major rivers that provide water and critical natural resources for local people also originate in this area. However, the mining operations of the Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd (KIOCL) has resulted in serious negative impacts on the natural habitats in the Park,” the letter said.
The KIOCL has sought extension of the mining lease in this area for the next 20 years and also plans to extend its area of operation. Environmentalists believe that this would “seriously” upset the ecosystem.
Environmentalists said that Japanese trading and steel companies have been importing and buying one million tons of iron ore produced in this area every year. Trading about one thirds of the total production of the KIOCL, these companies have supported KIOCL's “destructive activities,” they said.