The Congress president Subhash Shirodkar had loosely said that the “mining issue” is a non issue in Elections 2012. Herald travelled through the mining belt to map the anger of both the illegal mining affected and the mining dependent
SHWETA KAMAT
shweta@herald-goa.com
CAVREM: The mining areas of Cavrem, Savordem and Bicholim are pockmarked with stories of dejection. Away from the voices from urban
Kanta Barve, living in Honda Sattari, is in his late 70s. He owns a farm, which is devastated with the nearby mining. “Very few farms are left in this belt. Even if there are farms, there is no water. The production is decreasing every year,” said Barve, who moves on a wheel chair after his both limbs were rendered motionless due to polio.
Dying farms and mammoth hills of mining rejects marks the landscape in Soliem village where Barve owns a farm. The village is a part of Valpoi constituency but hardly any politician ventures here except during elections.
“Let them come now. I will take them in my farm and make them stand in knee deep mud,” Barve reacted with anger before wheeling himself in the house.
In Cavrem, an angry and hurt-literally – Nilesh Gaonkar is waiting for politicians. The blow that he got, allegedly by goons hired by an illegal mining operation, was telling. The injury on his shoulder and arm has left him without work. But the fire still burns against rampant illegal mining in the area.
Says Gaonkar, still recuperating from the attack on him, “It seems like we will be forced to see a mine owner or mining contractor in our constituency, but we shall fight them.”
There are some angry voices in Cavrem, Savordem and Bicholim that are waiting for politicians to come and ask for votes. “They will have to answer where were they when women and children were on the road, blocking trucks carrying illegal mining ore,” said Anand Gaonkar, a youth from Cavrem.
Cavrem residents are now contemplating fielding their own candidate with the support of NGOs. “We will go to the people and tell them to vote our candidate to save their villages from being another Cavrem,” he said.
But those dependent on mining are upset too. Mining and illegal mining are strange but often joint bed fellows. What is consistent though is that the ruling Congress has few friends in the mining belt. Illegal mining has hit the industry and taken away jobs and butchered the environment. So there are no winners here.
Subodh Tendulkar, a resident of Dabal in Savordem constituency, owns a farm and also runs a truck business. Tendulkar epitomises the feelings of both the people – dependent and affected with mining.
“Mining should not be at the cost of environment. But at the same time, in the name of environment we should not kill the business,” he said.
In fact the employment versus environment conflict is played out in Tendulkars home daily. Tendulkar is an executive member on South Goa Truck Owners Association and his wife Suvarna is a director of Goa Bagyatdar Sahakari Society Limited, a cooperative movement for greener
“Whoever comes asking for votes, he has to clarify their stand on having this balance,” he comments.
Further, truck owners involved in the transportation of iron ore are also in dilemma over security to their business. The illegal mining by large has put their business on stake.
“Neither BJP nor Congress has worked for the people dependent on mining. This time for elections, we want them to spell their stand on the issue,” Nilkant Gawas, All Goa Truck Owners Association president said.
The truck owners along the mining belt have to face protest and anger from local public, every alternate day due to accidents or air pollution. Lack of governance, has forced, truck owners to suffer. “Government has not come out with mining corridors nor has it widened the roads across the mining areas. The only thing that they have done is ‘mining, mining, mining’, says Raghu Gawas, Bicholim.
