Activists urged residents of Sundarayyapeta Panchayat to oppose the establishment of a stone crushing unit located within 364 meters of a lake in their village.
Sundarayyapeta Panchayat is located in Kasimkota Tehsil, 19 km from Anakapalle.
The lake known as Raju Gari Cheruvu is the main source of irrigation for farmers in Sundarayyapeta, Atchiyyapeta, and Mondipalem villages. The area in which the construction of the stone breaker unit is being carried out is located in the middle of agricultural fields and casuarina groves and is only a stone’s throw away from the water.
Representatives of the All India Youth Forum (AIYF), AP Rythu Sangham and the All India Agricultural and Rural Labor Association (AIARLA) have appealed to villagers not to allow the unit to be set up as the dust generated would contaminate the water in the lake and the earth destroy crops over a period of time.
“A new Panchayat road was built from Sampathipuram to Venkupalem. It was recently built under the Pradhan mantri Gram Sadak Yojana. This road will be destroyed within two years if heavy trucks drive on it. Anakapalle will sooner or later be appointed district headquarters once a separate district has been carved out from the Visakhapatnam district. It should be protected from pollution for the benefit of posterity, ”said one activist.
The activists said those who set up the stone crusher unit violated environmental regulations as the local population did not resist. They wondered if the Gram Panchayat approval had been given and if a Gram Sabha and a public hearing were conducted in accordance with legal requirements.
They urged local people to act before it was too late and submit a representation to the Joint Action Committee (JAC) to help the villagers fight for justice.