Goans dig deep to stay afloat

“The offers (from mining firms) were tempting so we could not resist them. Anyway,farming had become an unviable proportion for us,” Rama Gawade,in his 50s,said.

Soliem is amongst the many locales which have changed their profile from agro (mainly paddy) to mining economy. The village,surrounded by mines,is rich in iron ore,which is exported to several countries,including China.

Walk through the village,and cluster of houses and the noise of trucks attract your attention.

“The villagers are no longer farmers. Earlier almost all were dependent on farming to eke out their living. Now,they are truck owners or work on the mines,” Ankush Gaonkar,the local sarpanch (village head),said.

“The village houses three mines. We have heard that permission for three more mining leases is pending with the government. At such a pace,entire village will have to be shifted,” Sham Sakhalkar,a local,said.

The road connecting the village to the nearest town is dotted with heaps of mining rejects,many of which have turned into mini hillocks. The cashew plantation is disappearing and the paddy fields are getting barren with no one to till them.

It was not an easy task for the mining firms to percolate into the lives of the Gawda community listed among the ‘other backward classes’.

“There were initial protests. Around 100-odd people were detained when they resisted the truck moment in their village,” Hanumant Parab,an anti-mining activist,said.

But nothing happened after that as the protests died down soon and it was business as usual,he said.

The mining biggies,including Sesa Goa,Chowgules and Keny Mines,have set their plants in and around Soliem with hundreds of trucks ferrying the ore from here to barges,which is later shifted to bigger ships.

Even though Soliem residents have given up their green lands to the mining firms,the people residing downstream Chirewal locality raised a banner of protest as the silt started accumulating in their betel-nut farms.

Memorandums were submitted to the Agriculture Department seeking compensation from the mining firms.

“Annually,300 to 400 farmers from all over Goa put their claim for damage to their fields or farms due to mining.

The mining companies pay around Rs 15 to Rs 20 lakh as compensation to the farmers annually,” Satish Tendulkar,Director of Agriculture,said.

Its very recently that Agriculture Department has been taken into the loop by the government while allowing new mines in the state,Tendulkar said.

“If we find that mines will affect agriculture activity,we send a negative report to the government,” he said.

The tourist state is witnessing a raging debate on mining with activists expressing concern over its adverse impact on environment.

Recently,the issue figured in the legislative Assembly,where the members verbally clashed over uncontrolled mining in the coastal state.