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Shillong, Oct. 6: The Khasi Students Union (KSU) in a public rally held today asked the government not to go ahead with the proposed pre-development projects in the uranium mining sites even as it appealed to the people to be prepared for “any sort of agitation” in the coming days.

In a well-attended public meeting at Motphran here, the KSU leaders warned the government not to go ahead with the August 24 cabinet decision to allow the UCIL to carry out pre-development projects in the uranium mining sites.

The KSU also hinted that agitation programmes would be announced within a few days if the government still does not lend an ear to their demand. The KSU is likely to wait for the arrival of chief minister D.D. Lapang from Delhi to announce the agitation programmes.

Lapang left for Delhi today to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to apprise him about the cabinet decision to go ahead with the pre-development projects in the uranium mining sites.

Lapang is also expected to brief the Prime Minister about opposition to uranium mining from certain quarters.

At the meeting, KSU president Samuel Jyrwa criticised the government for giving a nod to the UCIL to carry out pre-development projects.

According to Jyrwa, the decision of the government is to finally allow the UCIL to carry out actual mining of uranium.

“The government has misled the people by saying that the implementation of the pre-development will bring development, but this will only serve the interest of the UCIL,” he said.

The KSU president also reminded the people that during the official public hearing on uranium mining held at Nongbah Jynrin, one of the uranium mining sites, in 2007, 75 per cent of the people gathered had opposed uranium mining.

“But UCIL and the Meghalaya Pollution Control Board have manipulated the report and misled the Union environment ministry by saying that 75 per cent had supported uranium mining,” Jyrwa said.

On the comments of the chief minister that the Centre may use force to mine uranium in Meghalaya, Jyrwa said this would be against democratic principles.

The Hill State People’s Democratic Party (HSPDP), which is supporting the present Congress-led Meghalaya United Alliance government, also took part in the KSU-sponsored rally.

HSPDP president H.S. Lyngdoh urged the people to care about the future of their children as uranium mining will bring about only misery.

An organisation from the uranium mining sites, the Langrin Youth Welfare Association, flayed urban affairs minister and former KSU president Paul Lyngdoh for changing his stand on uranium mining.

KSU general secretary Hamlet Dohling and the vice-chairman of state law commission, Fenela Lyngdoh Nonglait, among others also urged the people to oppose the stand of the government on the uranium mining issue.