Annulment of tungsten mineral block auction: People of Arittapatti area celebrate announcement

The residents of Arittapatti and nearby villages in Melur taluk in Madurai district erupted in joy, bursting crackers, singing, dancing, greeting one another and distributing sweets on Thursday evening, following the announcement made by the Union Ministry of Mines that it had decided to annul the auction of tungsten mineral block in Nayakkarpatti. Mr. Selvaraj said the people of the region had united in their fight against the proposed project, transcending caste, creed and religion. The fight against the project was the only thing on their mind and that was why thousands of people poured onto the road to oppose the project, he said, adding that the women of these areas had played a major role in the fight. Earlier this month, thousands of farmers and residents of Melur taluk took out a 25-km procession from Narasingampatti to Tallakulam in Madurai demanding scrapping of the tungsten mining project.