Ore Mining, Tiruvannamalai District

A newspaper report today stated that:

“Thousands of farmers in 10 villages around Kavuthi Malai and Vediappan Malai in Tiruvannamalai District are determined not to let the government give the go-ahead for the proposal for mining of iron ore in the hills. They are not ready to lose their idyllic lifestyle and be uprooted from the land to which they have a cultural mooring. “One needs to know the significance of the hills and its role in shaping the lives of the farmers to understand our anger’, says a farmer from Andiyur. “Vediappan (after whom one of the hills is named) is our ‘kuladeivam’ (family deity).”

The collective anger was palpable when over 1,000 villagers attended the public hearing conducted by the District Administration on December 27th last, to elicit the local community’s views on the proposal for mining in 325 hectares of forestland (a hectare is 2.27 acres). “These two hills have provided us the sustenance when the rest of the District was reeling under famine,” says a resident of Ponakkadu. ‘During droughts, we collect ‘kolakattis’ (stone pounded to make kolam powder) from the hills and sell them in Thiruvannamalai town’ say a group of farmers.

In the District that does not have a perennial river, it is the water from the hills that is harnessed by farmers for irrigation and domestic use. “All irrigation ponds in the 10 villages are at the foot of these hills and they serve as catchment areas, helping us to cultivate cash crops like kanagambaram, marigold, jathimalli and other flowers, besides two crops of paddy a year,’ says a panchayat official. A government officer at the collectorate confirms it, saying that water supply from the Sathanur dam is only for 90 days a year.

The effects of iron ore mining

Stating that a farmer cultivating 50 acres of land makes, on an average, Rs 1.20 lakh, an official from Periyapalayapattu village panchayat, asks: “Do you want us to give up all this and migrate to some parched land elsewhere and suffer?” The hills, with expansive grazing space, also provide fodder for the cattle and the forests are a source for firewood. “Women in Andiyur village sustain themselves by collecting firewood from Kavuthi Malai and selling a bundle for Rs 150,” says a woman of the village. The government officer also fears that Thiruvannamalai would turn into a desert if miners use water from Sathanur dam.”

Map of iron ore mining India

Well and good if thousands of understandably irate farmers are able to prevent ore mining in the Tiruvannamalai Hills. However, one wonders how the situation has been allowed to come to this point particularly as Tiruvannamalai is a famous pilgrimage spot, developing tourist area and currently involved in huge reforestation programmes that are financed by foreign countries and domestic and overseas NGOs.

“JWS Steel plans to tap 41.78 percent low-grade magnetite quartz ore by putting up mining facilities and beneficiation and pelletization plants. One million tonnes of iron ore will be tapped per annum after ‘clearing’ 2.20 lakh trees of 15 girths.

This apart, lakhs of other trees, including those grown under a Japanese government-funded project in the last four years, would be felled, a forest official said. The forest is home for indigenous flora and fauna and endangered species like Monitor Lizard, Pangolin, Deer and Porcupine, he added.

Since the mining involves drilling and blasting, as mentioned in the Rapid Environment Impact Assessment (REIA) report, it would cause air and water pollution too. Though the report specifies pollution abatement measures, it is impossible to prevent the iron ore dust from polluting the air in a minimum of eight-km radius, posing a threat to the Girivalam around the Thiruvannamalai hills, said an officer at the Collectorate. He added that tippers would be used to transport the pelletization materials, disrupting the tranquility of the hills.

The project would bring no jobs for the locals but would displace lakhs of farmers in the 10 villages around the two hills, said an environment activist.”

I recently visited an area about 10 miles south of the Hill which is being heavily mined for granite – it was not a pretty site as surrounding farms are gray from granite dust and the pretty rustic area is severely scarred by granite extraction. Iron ore mining is far more intrusive – the whole situation beggars belief and makes one wonder, ‘What are they thinking?’

As well as the hazards and consequences of ‘authorized’ iron ore mining, places such as Goa also suffer from illegal iron ore activity:

“. . .connivance of forest and mines departments in allowing such illegal extraction accused forest department officials of protecting illegal mines in the reserve forests and wild life sanctuaries of the State.”

Lets hope the farmers and activists win – otherwise the area has a dusty and ‘dry’ future to look forward to!

Controversial Site

Below is a series of photgraphs I took earlier this week at the three acre controversial building site on Arunachala Hill at Pavala Kunru hillock. The current status of the site is that all work has been halted pending a Court ruling.

Many homes (admittedly most of which were also illegally built some years back) are in jeopardy due to the ashram construction work. There are many houses like the yellow one at the right of the bottom photograph whose occupants have been put into life threatening situations due to possible mud or rock slides.

The Gopurams in the distance in the next photograph are of the Arunachaleswarar Temple at the base of Arunachala.

The last photograph of this sequence is of Pavala Kunru Temple situated at the top of Pavala Kunru hillock, a spur of Arunachala.

Land Grab

I suspect that nowadays even Sri Ramana Maharshi's devotees wouldn't be allowed to construct Skandashram on Arunachala Hill. So its not really surprising that a certain controversy is currently underway at Tiruvannamalai regarding the development of new Swami Nithyananda facilities in the township of Tiruvannamalai. I reproduce below the following narrative which appeared in New India Press this day:

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Godman’s attempt to grab land foiled
Friday August 31 2007 11:03 IST

By A.D. Balasubramaniyan

TIRUVANNAMALAI: Bangalore-based Godman Nithyanandha Swamigal’s attempt to grab vast tracts of land on the hill slopes of Tiruvannamalai was foiled by the public here on Wednesday.

According to sources, huge earth movers had suddenly appeared from nowhere and started removing boulders on the hill slopes for the construction of an ashram for Nithyanandha Swamigal.

The small hillock, where these fraudulent activities were being carried out, actually belonged to the State Revenue Department. Local residents tried to prevent the work.

Meanwhile, CPM cadres stepped in and informed the police, who in turn, informed the revenue department. CPM cadres joined local residents in their agitation against the land grabbers.

The workmen of the Godman initially defended their actions saying that they had patta for that land. Revenue officials, who reached the spot shortly after the agitation, negated their claim and stalled the work.

Rayar Krishnamurthy, a devotee of Nithyanandha Swamigal, who carried out the works, gave a letter to Revenue Department officials stating that he was constructing an ashram for Dhiyana Peetam of Nithyanandha and would not engage in such activities any more.

Police then seized the earth movers. The Godman’s workmen had also felled many trees, planted three years ago under an afforestation drive.

The CPM demanded that the police book a case against them and remove another ashram, set up by Nithayanandha on the hill slopes."

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Its certainly interesting times. I will continue with updates on this situation as it unfolds.

Jagannath Temple

Happily at Tiruvannamalai there are no Temples, Shrines or Ashrams out of bounds to any caste or nationality.

However, a few weeks ago there was controversy at the Jagannath Temple, Puri, Orissa, regarding a man of foreign ancestry, who wanted to take darshan of the Lord inside the Temple. The man was refused and forcibly removed from the Temple.

After the incident at the Jagannath Temple, the man of foreign ancestry was interviewed by a local TV station and in the interview the man raised many interesting and relevant points about Temples and caste in India and for this reason, I think many might be interested in hearing his learned and intelligent observations.

The Jagannath Temple is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to Jagannath (Krishna). It is located in the coastal town of Puri in the state of Orissa. The name Jagannath (Lord of the Universe) is a combination of the Sanskrit words Jagat (Universe) and Nath (Lord of). The Temple is an important pilgrimage destination for many Hindu traditions, particularly worshippers of Krishna and Vishnu and is particularly famous for its annual Rath Yatra, chariot festival where huge and elaborately decorated chariots are used for the procession of the three main Temple deities.

The huge Temple complex covers an area of over 400,000 square feet, and is surrounded by a high fortified wall. It contains at least 120 Temples and Shrines. It is one of the most magnificent monuments of India. In modern times the Temple is busy and functioning. It has over 6000 priests, along with 14,000 other employees serving as their assistants and attendants waiting on the Jagannath deity, as well as pilgrim guides.

The Temple is selective regarding who is allowed entry into the grounds. Most non-Hindus are excluded from its premises, as are Hindus of non-Indian origin. Buddhist, Jain and Sikh groups are allowed into the Temple compound if they are able to prove their Indian ancestry.

Now watch the video: