Mancherial: Members of Mines, Mineral and People (MMP), a national network of voluntary organisations that works for rights of people affected by mining, held a meeting in Mancherial on Sunday. The meeting was chaired by chairperson of the body Ravi Rebbapragada and attended by 15 members belonging to 16 states.
Addressing pressmen, Ravi said that the network had been passionately and selflessly striving for the rights of people affected by mining of coal and other minerals by public sector undertakings and corporate forces in different parts of the country for over 30 years.
He stated that they would help the hapless people in approaching courts, framing policies and preventing exploitation of natural resources by private agencies.
Ashok Sharma, general secretary, said that the network focuses on challenges during and after mining a mineral, especially on protecting the environment. He stated that they played a vital role in the amendment of the Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act-2015.
He claimed that they would bring major challenges being faced by people owning to mining of a mineral to the notice of the government and recommend ways to mitigate the problems.
State executive members KV Prathap, Deme Oram, Rajesh Thripathi, Bachi Singa, Ravinder Velip, Mukesh Birua, Munnia Hansda, Kushum Alam, Raju Pandhara, Swaraj Das, BP Yadav, Sushanth Panigrahi and Satish Kumar were present.