The Khasi Students’ Union (KSU), South West Khasi Hills district has opposed the proposal to allow the IIT, Guwahati and North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) to conduct a study on the reported leakages from the concrete uranium effluent tanks at Nongbah Jynrin.
In a statement issued on Friday, KSU district president Forwardman Nongrem said that the union is sticking to its stand for the need for an independent agency to carry out in-depth study on the leakages of concrete tanks at Nongbah Jynrin.
“But the proposal to let these varsities to carry out with their studies, are pre-planned, manipulative in nature and we don’t expect a fair report from their investigations,” Nongrem said.
He said that both the IIT Guwahati and NEHU are centrally funded universities and are therefore “Dependent Agencies” and not “Independent Agencies “.
“How can we expect an independent investigation from government aided universities and so, this decision is unwise and unacceptable to the union,” Nongrem added.
According to him, since 2002 the related departments of NEHU, Shillong has been receiving funds from the Department of Atomic Energy, Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences Mumbai and Babha Atomic Research Center for researches which are manipulative in nature and which were done with a view to favour the government in its efforts of mining uranium there at Mawthabah and Domiasiat area.
The Union also said that there is a need for a fair and independent agency not a bias and dependent agency to carry out in-depth study as they are sure that leakages are there and the level of radiation emission is also very high as confirmed during their inspection to the site on October 9 along with environment economist Dr. Bremley Wanbantei Lyngdoh.
The KSU also reminded that, NEHU had conducted and submitted its “manipulative” research from 2002- 2006 and the research was funded by the Department of Science and Technology and BRNS, Department of Atomic Energy. It was learned that the main purpose of that research is to mine uranium at Domiasiat and Mawthabah Area.
It may be pointed out that on October 16, the Meghalaya government decided to appoint an expert agency to go deep into the alleged leakage of radiation.
