June 21, 2007	Thursday	Jamadi-us-Sani 05, 1428

GUWAHATI: Tribal groups blockaded highways in India's northeast Meghalaya state on Wednesday, the start of a five-day campaign to protest government plans to mine uranium.

Hundreds of trucks carrying food, medicines and other essential supplies were stranded, according to protesters and police.

The protesters say that uranium mining could affect the health of villagers in the area, home to the largest deposits in the country.

Two highways passing through the state serve as lifelines to other parts of India's northeast, including Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura states and parts of Assam.

“This curfew has hit hard the business community, tourists and people from the neighbouring states,” Hasina Kharbhih, a protester, said.

India plans to extract natural uranium in the tiny tribal state, close to the border with Bangladesh, as there is a shortfall of nuclear fuel in the country

Officials estimate there are up to 10,000 tonnes of uranium in and around Domiasiat, the area considered to have the largest and richest deposits in the country.

Locals opposed to mining said villagers around Domiasiat have reported an increase in the number of people suffering from cancer and women suffering from miscarriages in recent years after the state-run Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) started survey works.

—Reuters