TRIBALS of Jharkhand, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh have become vulnerable to HIV infection due to illegal mining. Twenty one HIV positive cases have been reported from Noamundi iron-ore mines in Jharkhand alone, a health ministry official said.

Kakinada, May 5: The president of the East Godavari District Congress Committee and zilla parishad chairman, Mr Ch. Venugopala Krishna, said that he had recently appealed to the Chief Minister, Mr K.

Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Tuesday directed the Forest Department to stop illegal mining in the forest land, in the wake of the Supreme Court-appointed committee finding discrepancies in mining lease sketches in Bellary reserve forest area.

Ajith Athrady, New Delhi, May 4, DHNS:

Five months after the Centre sought an Action Taken Report (ATR) from the Karnataka government over the illegal mining scam unearthed by the Lokayukta, the B S Yeddyurappa government has said it has filed 56 cases against encroachers of the forest land.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its order on permitting Karnataka ministers G Janardhana Reddy and G Karunakara Reddy to carry on mining in the three mines owned by their Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) at Ananthapur adjoining the Karnataka-Andhra Pradesh border.

J. Venkatesan

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved verdict on the plea of the Reddy brothers to allow mining operations in the Obulapuram mines in the reserve forests bordering Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

The Tamil Nadu Government will frame a policy for the sustainable exploitation of mineral resources, announced the Deputy Chief Minister, Mr M.K. Stalin, in the Assembly today.

This was part of a number of initiatives in his reply to the debate in the Assembly on the demand for grants to the Industry Department.

Police unearthed illegal transportation of sand in water tank at Railway station on Monday. According to police, 53 barrels of sands were seized. Each tank had 50 kg sand.

S.S. NEGI
NEW DELHI

Bowing to intense pressure from the Centre, the Karnataka government seems to have finally woken up to the menace of illegal mining as its officials recently raided and seized huge amounts of unaccounted iron ore from the Bellikere and Karwar ports.