 |
| Neveli Lignite Mine |
We had a 50 km drive to get from the hotel to the Neveli Lignite Mine (NLM). Although the trip should have taken about an hour, weaving around tractors, buses, goats, cows, and pedestrians extended the drive into a 2-hour ordeal. The mine was an amazing sight. Sometimes I get the feeling like I'm in Middle Earth, not India. Bilbo Baggins already gave us a tour of Auroville and the barren, excavated landscape of the massive mine eerily similar to Mordor. So far, there have been no signs of Orcs. Not only was the site much larger than I anticipated, the operation changed my perception of mines. The directors of the mine utilized sustainable practices including aquifer water recycling for hydroelectric power generation, afforestation of mined areas, and construction of retention ponds and groundwater recharge areas. This was my favorite stop of the trip so far.
After the tour of the mine, our group stopped at a roadside drive-in restaurant. Several of us ordered the scezhuan fried rice. When I was the bright orange color of the grains on my plate, I knew my capsaicin tolerance was going to be tested. Suresh said the dish was 7 on a 1-10 scale of hotness. I was thankful for the nearby Arun ice cream shop!
No comments:
Post a Comment