Hectic mining, dust kicked up by unending stream of trucks, shortage of water, lack of higher education facilities suffocate Karnataka's Sandur Assembly segment.
Published Nov 11, 2024 | 7:09 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 11, 2024 | 9:52 PM
Hectic mining is posing a threat to Sandur's forest.
The Congress is looking to retain control of the Sandur Assembly seat, which was vacated by four-time MLA, E Tukaram. His wife, E Annapoorna is the Congress candidate from the seat.
On 13 November, voters in the Sandur Assembly constituency will head to the polls again to cast their ballots in the Karnataka bypolls. The by-election was necessitated after Tukaram, who won the Lok Sabha poll from Ballari, vacated the seat earlier this year.
The BJP has fielded its ST Morcha state President, Bangara Hanumantha, from Sandur. In the 2018 Assembly elections, Hanumantha contested as an independent candidate after the BJP had denied him a ticket. He garnered over 7,000 and the BJP lost the seat by around 8,000 votes.
Now, the BJP is hoping to dethrone the Congress that has been holding the seat since 2008. The seat is reserved for Scheduled Tribes with a significant population in the region.
Sandur is home to verdant forests and thriving wildlife. However, the presence of iron and manganese ores has attracted mining firms to the region.
Trucks kick up red dust, which settles on the soil and affects the crops.
Despite its mineral wealth, prosperity has not trickled down to local residents. Employment opportunities are scarce and most jobs are in mining or trucking.
The locals are aware of their rights and resent having to undertake manual labour as contract employees. The region made headlines in 2011 after Justice N Santosh Hegde reported on illegal mining in Ballari, as the district is now known.
Sreeshaila Aladahalli, a local activist, said illegal mining has wreaked havoc in the lives of people in Sandur.
“illegal mining affected the environment, wildlife and people’s health. The excessive mining earlier is now being done legally. Every day, around 8000 trucks make two trips from the mines to the factories,” he told South First.
“The truck movement kicks up red dust everywhere. The dust settles on the soil and affects the crops. Moreover, it is inconvenient and dangerous to commute on these roads now. There are at least 900 road accidents every year. The presence of mines has become a curse for us,” he added.
The locals do not have a share in the wealth extracted from the earth. The mine workers have been documented to suffer from lung and skin diseases due to exposure to silica dust.
The absence of lift irrigation projects denies Sandur adequate water supply.
Many villages do not have public schools and colleges. Students in Sandur have to travel to Ballari or Hosapete to join engineering colleges. Further, there are no coaching centres for competitive exams like NEET and CET.
Buses are infrequent. Apart from mining and trucking, farming is the only alternative for those owning land. However, since there are no lift irrigation projects in Sandur, they do not receive water from the Tungabhadra dam. Farmers rely on pump sets and rainfall for irrigation.
Moreover, the irrigation department releases water for 10 days in a month. It is used for drinking water purposes only.
In Toranagallu village, Ravi Kumar, a local resident said the time was ripe for a change. “The Gram Panchayat tested the RO plants and found water contamination. We found that the water was neither fit for drinking nor for irrigation,” he told South First.
“If we fill a container with water, a black residue forms at the bottom. The authorities are aware of these issues, but they haven’t done anything to help people,” he complained.
Another resident, Sreeshaila Aladahalli said all parties benefited from the mines. “The government needs revenue generated from the region and politicians need it to fill their own pockets. The people’s demands are unmet,” he alleged.
The District Mineral Foundation (DMF) is a statutory body set up by the central government in 2015. Its objective is to work for the benefit of persons affected by mining activities. The state government has the power to prescribe the composition and function of the DMF.
“The DMF funds can be used to uplift women. Women drop out of higher studies due to the absence of colleges. Instead, the funds are used to construct roads and buildings because the politicians can earn a commission from these projects,” Aladahalli said.
Both Congress and BJP have deployed heavyweights to campaign for the candidates. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has been travelling across Sandur with Annapoorna, while former chief minister BS Yediyurappa has been accompanying Bangara Hanumantha. It remains to be seen how Sandur will vote this time.
Incidentally, the BJP is upbeat as the polling day nears. B Janardhana Reddy has returned to the party fold, and has been allowed to enter Ballari, his stronghold, after 14 years. However, political commentators remained sceptical of his influence in the district, and are keenly watching the developments.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
