A goldrush for iron

 

 

Here money flies like the dust swirling above an open field. From deep under the ground, where the money is generated, to the sky above, there is only one thing in this land: Money. The super rich fly high in their chartered jets and choppers. They have the rich mines here to thank for their lopulence.

Mine boxers, like bouncers in pubs who throw out disruptive elements, roam freely here in their luxury four wheelers; they are the ones who control the whole operations on behalf of their danis (owners). This is only one side of the picture. On the other side, one finds more than six lakh mine workers and their dependants living in abject conditions in dire poverty. According to a recent survey, more than two lakh children work in these mines openly flouting the laws of the land on child labour. When you take the 3-hour trip down the dusty 30 km stretch you see the raw face of poverty, extortion and inhuman conditions in a land where money flows so freely.

Interestingly, it is from here, in Bellary, that Congress President Sonia Gandhi won the (in 1999) first Lokasabha Election by defeating BJP’s Sushma Swaraj, a seat that she later left for Amethi. Today, Sandur, Hospet and Bellary areas of this district look like a war-ravaged battlefield. The dust never settles here. Day and night, on all seven days of the week, there will be thousands of blasts in open cast mines on the top of the hills. Once these areas were abundant with sandalwood, but now all the mining activity have taken a heavy toll on the environment, severely depleting the forest cover of the area. When the TSI team stood in Vyasarayanakere, Gundya Reserve Forest area, observing all the activity going on in the area, about 500 trucks must have rolled down the hill amid the resounding sound of blasts going off now and then.

More than 10,000 trucks pass the area everyday carrying 17 (legal limit) to 30 tonnes of iron ore. The ore is transported to Karawar, Mangalore, Goa, Vishakhapatnam and Chennai ports from where they are exported mainly to China. In 2006 more than 40 million tonnes of iron ore was exported from Bellary; this constitutes 40% of the total iron ore production in the country. The Managing Director of Obalapurum Mining Corporation, G. Janardhan Reddy says, “In Bellary district, we are doing 100% legal mining,” says Reddy reclining back in his plush chair sitting in his swanky air-conditioned office at Bellary. About the inhuman condition of mine workers and environmental hazards he says, “We are taking utmost care. Especially all big mine owners are taking care of the environmental aspect. We strictly adhere to the environment laws and do our business.” Incidentally, Reddy is same the person whom the JDS wanted BJP should sacrifice eventually leading to the unseating of the seven-day-old B.S. Yedyurappa government.

The small mine owners in Hospet, on condition anonymity, say, “To be frank with you, including me all the small and big mine owners are doing illegal mining. Sure we take a legal lease. Later, we start working in the forest areas and grab as much as possible. ”

According to sources, different posts in Mines and Geology, Forest, Ecology and Environment and Police departments at Bellary are most sought after postings for state government employees. “Almost all the departments concerned are in one way or the other involved in illegal mining. The judicial inquiry proposed by the State Government would not only unravel the truth but would help the Government initiate stern action against the guilty,” M.P. Prakash, former Home Minister, said not so long ago. Prakash’s outburst came when last year, the local BJP politician, G. Janardhan Reddy, alleged that the then Chief Minister, H.D. Kumaraswamy, had taken a hefty bribe of Rs 150 crores, Prakash ordered a judicial enquiry.

Prakash hails from the same district and represented Huvinahadagali Assembly constituency the last time. Prakash’s statement itself gives an idea as to how deep the rot is.

Kumar, an active political worker at Sandur says, “Not now, you just visit our constituency during the next Assembly election and then you can see the real power of the mine danis. A candidate needs at least Rs 100 crores to win an Assembly seat here. During elections the political parties freely distribute colour television sets, sarees and silver anklets to each household in the area. Only money wins here.”

The irony, however, is that despite such free flow of money Bellary has very little to boast of. Infrastructure is poor; only 10% of the 4000 km of road surface here is motorable. Due to the heavy flow of the overloaded mining trucks each and every road in three taluks is full of potholes and craters. In and around Sandur and Hopset there are no roads to speak of.

The Hospet-Sandur stretch is a standing example of the poor state of infrastructure in the district. It takes three hours to cover the 30 km stretch by car. On the both sides of the road there are huge mines, mine stockyards and villages surrounding them. Some of these villages, like Kaniverayanagudi, Yeshawanthapura, Venkatagiri, Jai Singapura, Siddapura, Sushilanagar, are practically hell on the earth. When the TSI team reached close to Siddapur, it met a lonely, 65-year-old woman, Mylamma sitting in the middle of the potholed road, under a glaring sun and collecting the iron-ore pebbles which had fallen off the moving trucks. “Per day I will collect 2-3 puttis (fistful) of these stones and I will get Rs 14 to 21. I have been doing this for the past four or five years,” said Mylamma. Her family members used to go to work as farm labour before the mining boom took place. But now all agriculture activities have come to a standstill. Practically, agriculture is dying here and in some parts it’s already dead.

Hanumappa, a local farmer in Sandur, says, “Now the farmers are leasing out their agricultural fields to small mine owners. These miners will pay the farmer Rs 6-10 lakh for every 11 months and grab the mine deposit in the agriculture land. There is no control, especially in this sector.” As per the Agriculture Department statistics Bellary’s food production capacity is going down drastically.

What about the state of the people who are working in these mines and local residents? Dr M. Bhagyalakshmi, from an NGO named Sakhi working in Hospet, makes it clear: “The indiscriminate and illegal mining is creating a goldrush in the district. Because of the easy money the entire social scenario is changed here. Youngsters are dropping out of college and joining the mining industry. For them Rs 4,000 to Rs 6000 salary is big money. Alcoholism and crime have also increased. The rich here are getting ultra rich and poor are becoming ultra poor. Heritage and Health at stake

Papinayakanahalli is a mining area and which is just 8 K.M. away from UNESCO’s world heritage site, world famous tourist spot Hampi. Here there was rampant mining activities are going on. One hand these mining activity is threat to the Hampi’s historical sites. On the other hand this unhealthy economic boom has created an unhealthy flutter in society also. Dr.T. Ajay Kumar, Psychiatrist from Hospet narrated two stories to us.

“Seven months back one young lady came for treatment. She was under tremendous stress and anxiety. When we dig deep in to her mind the shocking story came out. Sharadamma and her friend Mangala (the name changed) both of them were working in a mine and were repeatedly raped by ‘mine boxers.’ Due to the physical and mental stress Sharadamma became psychic. Her parents took her to a village witchcraft hunter for treatment. That guy again raped her and her situation became worse and then she has been brought to a private nursing home. After treatment her health improved and now she is leading a normal life.”

“Prakash (name changed), a youngster is from a farmers family. He used to go for farm land and used to work there. He was a body builder and one particular day one of the Mine owner offered him a job. So, Rs.10,000/- month salary attracted him. Then he was given a position of ‘Mine Boxer.’ His work is to go the mining area, keep watch on the workers and mine stock. A motor cycle was also provided to him. So, with easy money his life style changed. He started boozing. After few days Panic Disorder struck. He spent more than Rs.50,000 to cure his disease (he thought he will dye with heart attack). At the he landed here and we came to know what exactly happened to him. Now he is treated and leading a normal life.”

According to Dr. Ajay, this unhealthy economic boom has lead in to drastic change in life style and apart from normal disorders the lower strata is suffering with lot of anxiety related psychic disorder in and around mining areas.