The government of the north-eastern Indian state of Meghalaya has given its approval for the start of mining at a uranium deposit in a region on the border with Bangladesh.

Officials of the federally-owned Uranium Corporation of India said the Meghalaya government had also persuaded local student and youth groups to call off their environmental protests against the mine.

The company's chairman, R Gupta, said the utmost care would be taken to protect the environment and health of local residents around the mine at Domiosiat.

A BBC correspondent in the region says revenue from the uranium mine will be a significant source of income for the state government, and help secure uranium supplies for India's expanding nuclear programme.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service