Authorities in South West Khasi Hills today said that report of an explosion at a storage tank of the Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL) in Nongbah-Jynrin village was fake.
Superintendent of Police Maxwell B Syiem told reporters after an inspection that no explosion, news of which went viral on social media yesterday, took place.
Syiem said that people living in the area were not aware of any explosion.
The South West Khasi Hills police said that they will ask the Cyber Crime Cell to investigate the matter.
Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Caramai Kharkongor also said that there has been no incident at the site.
“No such explosion took place because the storage tank has been properly sealed with cement by UCIL authorities,” the Deputy Commissioner said.
Meanwhile, the Khasi Students Union (KSU) refused to let go of the explosion theory, saying it did not believe it to be a rumour.
KSU South West Khasi Hills President Forwardman Nongrem said that he had visited the site as well and found that cracks in at least four of the storage tanks were more pronounced than previously.
The KSU has been spearheading the anti-uranium mining campaign in the state.
The union has warned the government about the cracks, but the administration has taken things lightly, he said.
“We demand that the government should take up the matter seriously and to properly investigate the same so that the lives of the people in the district are not jeopardised,” Nongrem said.
