Actor-politician and Jana Sena Party (JSP) President Pawan Kalyan on Monday joined hands with senior Congress leader V Hanumantha Rao in expressing his concern over Centre’s plan to mine uranium in Telangana's Nallamala forest.
Stating that it would badly damage biodiversity apart from affecting the environment, Pawan Kalyan worried that the uranium mining would generate radon, which was a product of the radioactive decay of uranium.
V Hanumantha Rao called on Pawan Kalyan at the JSP office in Hyderabad.
"Underground uranium mines may have high concentrations of radon. People who inhale this may be affected with lung cancer and kidney issues may arise when people drink water with uranium waste," the JSP said in a statement.
Speaking on the occasion, Pawan Kalyan said, "The people of two Telugu states will be affected because of uranium mining and Krishna waters will get polluted. If pregnant women drink the polluted water, there is a major threat that looms large. Many people belonging to the Chenchu tribe have already brought the issue to JSP's notice."
"An all-party meeting on the ill-effects of uranium mining will be organised and also be discussed with environmental scientists and experts before going to the people. The party will announce in a couple of days when the round-table conference will be organised," he added.
Congress senior leader V Hanumantha Rao said uranium mining was an issue concerning both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh because effluents generated from uranium processing could potentially join the Krishna river nearby, which both states depend on.
"The biodiversity of Nallamala would be affected and the animals will face a threat to their lives. The lives of the Chenchu tribe would become worse and no crop can be grown after the mining of uranium, as water would get polluted and may not be suitable for agriculture," the JSP statement added.