FOR years now, Bellary has made headlines for its high infant mortality, low sex ratio, high HIV prevalence, overall backwardness. The Sonia-Sushma slugfest for the Lok Sabha seat in 1998 brought the national media to the northern Karnataka district, but interest dissipated as soon as the results were announced.

Now, Bellary is back in the news, riding high on the never-before revenue generated from the export of iron ore to China. “Mining in Bellary was not big business till August 2003, when China began importing iron ore for construction related to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The boom has seen prices go up from Rs 100 per ton to Rs 2,000 per ton,” says Bellary deputy commissioner Arvind Shrivastava.

While the iron ore here is of a high grade (62-68 per cent concentration), even the material that was once dumped around the mines as waste is finding a market in China. Consider this: In 2003, Bellary produced 18 million tonnes of iron ore. In 2005-06, it exported almost twice that amount, fetching 35 mine-owners some Rs 3600 crore as profit before tax.

“At one time no one cared for Bellary. It was a desert,” says BJP MLC Janardhan Reddy, who also holds stakes in the mining business. “Now through god’s grace, the district is rich.”

The district, with a 20-lakh population and a literacy rate below 50 per cent, today has the highest concentration of private aircraft in the country. At least eight mine-owners use helicopters or small aircraft for personal transport. Imported cars, including a Rolls Royce, share roadspace with 5,000-7,000 iron ore-laden trucks.

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