Protests Against Tungsten Mining in Melur Taluk, Madurai

• Over 300 women in Kesampatti village protest against the Union government’s proposed extraction of tungsten.

• The protest is part of weekly agitations organized by activists and residents of panchayats since November 7, 2024.

• The Ministry of Mines granted tungsten mining rights in eight blocks, spanning 5,000 acres, through an auction to Hindustan Zinc Limited, a subsidiary of Vedanta Limited.

• The Melur region, proposed for mining, includes the villages of Arittapatti and Nayakkarpatti, rich in scheelite, a key source of tungsten, and several heritage sites.

• Over 20 panchayats of four panchayat unions in Madurai passed resolutions against the project on November 23, and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin urged the Modi government to cancel the award.

• Archaeologists, including C. Santhalingam, supported the people’s protest against the mining project, citing the presence of two Brahmi stone inscriptions dating back 2,300 years in the Kazhinja malai.

• The government asked the Geological Survey of India to redefine the boundaries of the Nayakkarpatti block by excluding the biodiversity heritage site.

• A 25-kilometer protest march is planned from Narasingampatti in Melur taluk to Tallakulam in Madurai city on January 7.