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Once India’s gold mine, this dejected Karnataka town is only remembered in election season

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Thousands rendered jobless due to closure of mines in 2001; voters say political parties promise to re-open mines before every election, but never deliver.

Kolar Gold Fields: Kolar Gold Fields, or KGF as it is known locally, lost its glitter about two decades back. But every election season, there is some promise of the shine returning to what once was India’s golden town. Only to prove deceptive.

People living in the mining town, located 100 km from Bengaluru, are caught in a web of poverty, unemployment and disease even as political parties are trying to lure the voters with fresh assurances ahead of the 12 May state assembly polls.

Once a prosperous village and home to the Kolar Gold Fields that later became Bharat Gold Mines Limited (BGML), the town at present wears a decrepit look.

BGML was closed down in 2001 as the gold ore reserves got exhausted after 150 years of continuous extraction. Geological Survey of India (GSI) and the Mineral Exploration Corporation Limited (MECL) declared that mining would no longer be an economically viable option as BGML had already run into losses running up to Rs 900 crore.

Thousands were rendered jobless due to the closure of the mines and became dependent on Bengaluru for their livelihood. An estimated 25,000 people commute from KGF to Karnataka’s capital every day.

Sources said BGML owned 12,109 acres of land, of which 1,000 acres had been given to Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML), a PSU under the defence ministry.

Unemployment a major problem

Vincent (22) buys a monthly train pass of Rs 500 for his daily commute from KGF to Langford Town in Bengaluru where he works as an office boy at a private company.

“I want to give my family a better life. I am still young and I can work. But why won’t the government look at developing our area,” he asked.

“They come to us during elections and then we are forgotten just like the ruins of the gold mines here,” Vincent told ThePrint.

Dilip Kumar, another resident, wonders why nobody talks about opening an industry that could provide jobs to unemployed youths of the town.

“People here struggle every day travelling up and down. I challenge you none of these political parties has the will to re-open the mines or set up some other industry,” he said.

Mohana who lives in Robertsonpet also comes from a miner’s family. At the age of 60, she takes care of her home, while her sons, just like the others in the town, travel to Bengaluru in search of work. Her husband died while working in the mines.

In this election season, she seems to have realised that nothing has changed in this mining town all these years.

“I will not vote for anybody, why should I? They promised us so many things,” she said giving vent to her frustration.

“They said they will re-open the mines and will provide jobs to at least one child per family. But none of these has been fulfilled. I am done with their promises,” Mohana added.

Re-opening the gold mines

Locals claim that while re-opening the mines is possible, political parties have been making false promises for almost two decades on this issue.

“People have lost hope that the mines will again see the light of day,” said G. Jayakumar, coordinator of BGML Employees, Supervisors and Officers United Forum.

In fact, the central government had planned to float a global tender to reopen the mines two-three years ago. Even an Australian mining company, Citigold Corp, had conducted several field visits to assess the viability of reopening the mines between 2006 and 2016. Attempts were also made to partner with an Indian company to revive the mines. But a final decision in this regard is still pending.

“People have had enough. They know that this is a game being played by the Centre and the state…Many have lost their jobs and they just want disbursal of their dues and arrears, which together amount to Rs 52 crore,” said Das Chinnasavari, convenor of KGF Citizens Protection Forum.

Silicosis, the silent killer

Over the years, silicosis — a lung ailment — has become almost synonymous with KGF. Many miners and their families have been affected by this disease.

“My father died of silicosis. Many of us have breathing issues here,” said Ramesh, a resident of KGF. He was wheezing as he spoke to ThePrint.

“My uncle has the same medical problem and as a driver, how much can I spend on medicines?” he asked.

Another resident, Sushma talked of how she developed a perpetual cough. “Let these politicians do something about the ‘cyanide’ mountain. They should concentrate on our health too,” she said.

She was referring to the presence of cyanogens, a chemical that was used to treat the raw gold, in the area.

“I will vote the person who can give us a healthy life,” Sushma added.

Vote-bank politics

Voters in the Kolar Gold Field constituency are visibly annoyed as they claim that political parties have done nothing all these years except selling the “golden dream” to the people. This is the only constituency in the state where parties such as the Republican Party of India and All India Scheduled Caste Federation, founded by Dr B.R. Ambedkar, have a presence.

The voters in this Tamil dominated region have given several parties a chance, including the AIADMK whose MLA Bhakatavatsalam was elected thrice before.

In 2008, KGF decided to let an “outsider”, Y. Sampangi, to win the seat for the BJP.

However, Sampangi got convicted in a bribery case and was sentenced to three years of imprisonment. He then fielded his mother Y. Ramakka who won the seat in the last election.

This time around, it is going to be a three-cornered fight with the BJP, Congress and the Janata Dal (S) fielding their candidates. Locals seem to be upset with the Congress MP K.H. Muniyappa for not having fought their case when the gold mines were shut.

Muniyappa’s daughter, Roopa Shahsidhar, is contesting this time on a Congress ticket. Her rival from BJP is Ashwini, Sampangi’s daughter. The JD(S) has fielded a former minister, Srinivas Gowda, in this constituency.

Ashwini claims the BJP has made several attempts to reopen the mines. After the central government said that mining is a state subject, the Congress government put the ball back in the Centre’s court saying they cannot handle the liabilities, she said.

“My father and the committee members met Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman and have also asked her to expedite work on it. It is true that several companies tried to privately take over mining, but it all fell flat.”

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