Rival mine barons in ‘get Reddy Brothers’ mission

By Shivakumar G Malagi

Dec. 16/2009

Talk about a rebellion and the names that automatically spring to mind are the infamous Reddys from Bellary whose November putsch failed to unseat Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa.
But this time, tourism minister G. Janardhan Reddy and revenue minister G. Karunakar Reddy who have held back to back midnight parleys with the Chief Minister to defuse the current rebellion, are not playing spoiler but mediator.
In fact, the challenge to BSY’s government comes from a determinedly apolitical mining family who are said to be tacitly backing the 18-20 member ‘third bloc’ and have reportedly struck a deal with the Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress leadership to end the Reddy reign over the Bellary empire.
Industry sources say a reputed mine owner whose family has been in mining for the last five decades has been leading the ‘Reddy rival mine owners syndicate’ to execute a game plan to form a JD(S)-Congress government in a bid to keep the Reddy brothers from becoming more powerful than they already are.
The rivalry between the Reddys and the other mining giants has been a longstanding one, that has seen these mining families face police harassment and receive threatening calls.
One of the main reasons that forced this non-political group of mine owners to seek an alternative government in state, sources say, is the difficulty in obtaining mineral dispatch permits (MDPS) from the local officials who only take orders from the Reddy brothers. Apart from this, they are also facing serious encroachment into their mining territory and looting of their mineral wealth.
“Non-issuance of MDPS, leaving mines idle at the time of making business profits, day and night encroachments on their mines, police harassment and delay in getting justice from the court procedures have made Reddy rivals make a one-time investment for an alternative government in the state,” remarked sources.
The mine owners have taken this route before. “The same syndicate of Reddy rivals approached the Chief Minister and a senior national leader of party from New Delhi when the Reddys rebelled last month. Then, they had assured BSY they would bring in the JD(S) in return for the expulsion of the Reddy brothers from the party. They failed due to Sushma Swaraj’s firm support to the Reddy brothers,” the sources said.
But, this time, they seized the opportunity that opened up when the so-called ‘third bloc’ found they had not benefited from aligning with the Reddys. “The statements being issued by JD(S) chief H.D. Deve Gowda party state unit president H.D. Kumaraswamy and Congress leaders S. Siddaramaiah and R.V. Deshpande in recent weeks favouring a Congress-JD(S) coalition is an indication that these mine owners are in touch with both the Congress and JD(S) top leadership,” the source said.

MINED IT! - Tipu weapons from Bellary mine

Tipu Sultan, the Tiger of Mysore

By Shivakumar G Malagi

Bellary, Nov 27 2009

When the controversy hogged the Reddy Brothers mining empire after Central Empowered Committee of the Supreme Court held the Reddys’ owned Obulapuram Mining Company guilty of illegal mining and called for a halt to mining in six mines of Bellary Reserve Forest of Andhra Pradesh for the same reason, great warrior King Tippu Sultan might be turning in his grave!.
Before the “Tom, Dick and Reddys” tryst with disputed mineral rich zone surrounding Suggalamma hillock in BRF of Rayadurg taluk on Andhra Pradesh side, nearly 220 years ago, Mysore Tiger Tippu Sultan excavated mineral from the same area to manufacture artillery including war rockets.
According to volume XXV of the Geology of the Bellary District, Madras Presidency published in 1895, Tippu Sultan had a mine on the Sugalamma Koda (hillock). Author of this volume, Robert Bruce Foote, F.G.S., F.M.U; Superintendent of Geological Survey of India wrote “metal was mined for by Tippu Sultan when master of the Bellary region”. He wrote that Copper Mountain, a European geologist in Tippu’s army had vouched existence of mineral, particularly discovered copper and other chemical compositions of mineral in Sugalamma Konda that was used in making combustion powder.He documented that during his traverse, he found haematite quartzite rock, but there were no signs of copper in any form of variety. However, in his third attempt, he found an old abandoned mine in Sugalamma Konda as called by Telugu neighbourhood or Copper Mountain possessed of no collective native name, but which may well be called after its principal summit the Copper Mountain of the European and Suggammadevi Betta or Sogadevibetta of the Canarese (Kannada speaking people) natives.
In fact, Robert Bruce Foote took up research on Tippu's mine after the Captain T J Newbold, F.R.S of the Madras Army who made a number of traverses through various parts of the district after the fall of Tippu in IV Anglo-Mysore War. He had made descriptions on Tippu’s mines and mineral melting furnaces’ in Suggalamma hillock in the journal of Asiatic Societies of London and Bengal in 1842.
According to Kannada Kaifiyats (, with the mineral mined out from Suggalamma Konda, Tippu’s European engineers produced manufactured war weapons in melting furnaces located in the area including that Tippu-fame war rockets with an important change: the use of metal cylinders to contain the combustion powder. He used to store artillery in Bellary fort built on the Bellary rock hill.

IN MINE-RICH BELLARY, FLOOD-HIT PEOPLE STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE, NO HELP IN SIGHT `

Shivakumar G Malagi /October 13-2009

Ten days after the waters receded, 80-year-old G Pampathaiah returned to his village T. Santhe Kudloor in Sirguppa taluk of Bellary district, some 70 kms from the mine-rich city of Bellary to attend the funeral of his childhood friend Kasheem Sab. The friend who survived the floods, died of heartbreak after the worst floods in the history of the state washed away his home as well as others in this once prosperous village, leaving carcasses of cattle littered across the fields, with crows and dogs feeding off the flesh.
Pampathaiah's village sits on the banks of the Tungabhadra, and borders Kurnool in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, the confluence of the two states which has seen the worst damage. TS Kudloor's 360 families -most of them well-to-do and educated -- left to shelter under tents from whatever fabric they could salvage, as they scrounged for medicine, relief and food from the handful of voluntary organisations that braved the rain and provided the basic amenities, well before the district administration got there.
"It's deeply upsetting to see the dignified people I know, reduced to rags and standing in queues waiting for food like beggars," said the old-timer.
"This is a shame. The district administration has sent relief material to only some villages but it took them seven days to get to my village in TS Kudloor. People were forced to fend for themselves till then. They are emotional and physical wrecks."
Officials insist that sufficient food is being provided at gruel centres and relief camps. But as Deccan Chronicle toured this forgotten corner of Bellary -home to the wealthiest mine owners in the country -children who lined the road-side from Hachcholi to TS Kudloor were begging for food and clothes from anyone who drove up to the village. "I cannot bear to look," said Venkatesh Shetty, a `kirana' merchant from Bellary.
The nearby villages of Hachcholli, Kudadarhal, TS Kudloor, Matur, Sridhargadde, Kothalachinte villages, all in Sirguppa taluk screamed `failure' as The authorities put up some make-shift bamboo and iron sheet sheds on the outskirts of Hachcholi village on Sunday for homeless families but hundreds in T Santhe Kudloor and Kudadharal were still in make-shift tents.
Said Pampathaiah "The extent of damage cannot be put into words as the residents have lost everything, including property records and ration cards. Records kept at the Raitha Sahakar Bank in Hatcholli village have been damaged and efforts are on to dry the records in a bid to retrieve some of them. The fertilizer stock kept in the bank godown has dissolved, leaving only empty bags."
A medicos' team of the National Rural Health Mission and district health department has been visiting these villages to check the health status of the flood affected. "Healthcare facility is absolutely dismal in the interior villages. Only God can save these people if an epidemic breaks out since the drains are blocked, remains of dead cattle are stuck in fields and people have still not been supplied chlorinated water," said S.Shivanand, NSS nodal officer, working with college students in the interior villages bordering Andhra.
Another issue which proves the failure of the district administration is the `illegal' excavation of sand from the flood-ravaged river bed of Tungabhadra.When the whole administration is focused on rehabilitation work, illegal sand miners have made banks of rivers Tungabhadra and Hagari into a haven for sand mining. At the cut-off Raravi bridge site in Siruguppa, 20 tractors were engaged in sand excavation though it is not allowed down the bridges as per norms.

"YSR an elder brother"- Bellary mine lord Janardhan Reddy

(Gali Janardhan Reddy with YSR during foundation stone laying ceremony of Bramhani Steels)

By Shivakumar G Malagi

September/ 2009

Amidst much speculation about the Reddy brothers' association with the late Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S.Rajashekhar Reddy, tourism minister G. Janardhan Reddy on Saturday grieved his death saying he had lost his "elder brother and guiding spirit."
"I am deeply grieved at losing my elder brother YSR. I do not have words to describe the relationship we shared," the minister said.
Speaking to reporters after inaugurating a school sports event at Tekkalakote village here, Mr Reddy refused to entertain questions about the Reddy brothers' alleged political and business links with the late YSR.
However, he described YSR as a tall personality and a model for all political leaders irrespective of their affiliations due to his propeople reforms.
He vowed to follow the YSR path in terms of honesty and commitment for development in his own political career.
When asked if his "cordial relations" with YSR had anything to do with the business interests he and his brothers reportedly shared with his son Jaganmohan Reddy, he said, "There was nothing like that between us. It was a cordial relationship between a Chief Minister and a businessman. The late Chief Minister YSR supported enterprising businessmen."

Bellary Reddy brothers lobby for Jagan

By Shivakumar G Malagi

September / 2009

The political skills of the Reddy brothers --which helped them pull off Operation Kamal and ensure the BJP government a majority in the Assembly--could come to the rescue of Jaganmohan Reddy, son of late YSR as he waits for the decision on who the next AP Chief Minister will be.
With the Congress high command frowning on the efforts of the Jagan camp to ensure he makes it to the post without fail, there are many who are keeping their fingers crossed on who the next chief minister could be. "If the high command decides against making Jagan CM, the Reddy brothers could come into the picture.They may push for a Jagan government with the support of a splinter group of the Congress and the Praja Rajyam Party." the sources claimed adding that a couple of legislators of the PRP are relatives of the Reddy brothers.
Health minister B, Sriramulu who is close to the Reddy brothers, is hopeful that Jagan will emerge as CM. "I personally feel Jagan's name may be cleared by the Congress high command after the mourning period," he told Deccan Chronicle.
But there are others who say that with YSR gone, the Reddy brothers are at a loss as they do not have good ties with any other top Congress leader who is close to 10 Janpath.
There is also a feeling in political circles that YSR's absence may spur Congress leaders in Karnataka to pressurise the high command to get tough on the Reddys `illegal' mining business.

Bellary Reddys go all out for YS Jagan

By Shivakumar G malagi

September/ 2009

With the sevenday mourning period of former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Rajashekar Reddy set to end on Wednesday, the powerful Reddy brothers have reportedly shifted base to Hyderabad to give a `push' to Jaganmohan Reddy's prospects. Sources said a Congress legislators' meeting likely to be convened in the next couple of days to ensure that the 37year-old Kadapa MP, son of YSR, has an easy ascent to the CM's post.
Sources said tourism minister Janardhan Reddy who is reportedly a business partner of Jagan in mining and steel ventures, is camping in Hyderabad as Congress legislators have started arriving in the city anticipating a CLP meeting.
"Janardhan Reddy is pulling all strings with the help of YSR loyalist and Rajya Sabha MP K.V.P.Ramachandra Rao to make Jagan the next CM," said sources in Bellary. Meanwhile, Congress MLA from Rayadurga constituency, K. Ramachandra Reddy -- who is a close relative of Janardhan Reddy and joint managing director of Obulapuram mining company (OMC)-expressed confidence that the Congress high command will clear the name of Jagan for CM as there is no `alternative in sight.' This is the only way left to console the grief-stricken public and complete the unfulfilled agenda of YSR, he said.
"If Jagan is not made Chief Minister, there will be no government in Andhra Pradesh. Every legislator will resign and anarchy will prevail," he remarked.
On Union ministers Purandareshwari and Jaipal Reddy being considered for the CM's post, he said, "These reports are not true.How can you name Purandareshwari or Jaipal Reddy as the next CM when their popularity levels are low in the coastal and Telangana regions respectively, as per a survey conducted by a private agency?"

Bellary Reddy Brothers push for Jagan as Andhra CM

By Shivakumar G Malagi

September 5, 2009

The Reddy brothers, mining barons turned ministers in the Karnataka government, who shared "good relations" with the late Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Rajasekhar Reddy, are believed to be backing his 37-year-old son Jaganmohan Reddy for the CM's gaddi.
Sources close to the Reddy brothers said they were working with Rajya Sabha member and close YSR aide, K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao, who is believed to be pulling every string possible, to ensure that Jagan replaces his father.
Tourism minister G.Janardhan Reddy and health minister B. Sriramulu had left for Hyderabad Wednesday evening after hearing of YSR's helicopter going missing over the Kurnool forests and were in Pulivendula for his last rites on Friday.
Speaking to Bellary Correspondent, Deccan Chronicle over the phone from Pulivendula next day after the funeral, Mr Sriramulu said, "YSR toiled hard for the Congress in Andhra Pradesh. I personally feel that elevating Jagan to the post of Chief Minister will be a fitting tribute to him."
According to him, if Jagan was made Chief Minister, he would ensure Congress rule in Andhra Pradesh for the next 20 years.
"Jagan knew the way Rajasekhar Reddy thought. He alone can finish his father's unfulfilled agenda. I feel making Jagan the CM is the right way to console the grief-stricken people and party workers," he added. .
Referring to Union minister Jaipal Reddy being talked of as a strong contender for the CM's post as well, he said, "We are holding talks with various leaders on the issue of Jagan becoming CM."
Meanwhile, the antiReddy mining lobby in Bellary alleged the Reddy brothers were backing Jagan to perpetuate the status quo in the interest of their mining and steel industries in Andhra Pradesh.

School buddies miss YSR

Young Raja: YSR with B Sc First Year friends in Veerashaiva College in Bellary in 1964-65

By Shivakumar G Malagi

Bellary, Sep 3, 2009

Leny, Narasimha Murthy, Ashwath Singh, Kaleshwar Mudaliar, Dr Francis, Muralidhar, Ramkoti, Anki Reddy, literally broke into tears on Thursday morning (Sep 3 2009) as television channels aired the sad news that their childhood friend, `Raja’ has found dead on Rudrakonda Hill in Kurnool district in an air crash.
`Raja’ of Leny and his friends is none other than departed Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajashekhar Reddy.
It is a popular impression that YSR connection with Bellary is linked with BJP Reddy Brothers, since it has been alleged that YSR son Jagamohan Reddy has business links with Reddys’ Obulapuram Mining Company and Rs 2,500 crore estimated Brahmini Steels in Jammalamadagu in Cuddappa.
In fact, YSR connection with this Andhra bordering city of Bellary is nearly five decade long old and is till date alive among many childhood friends.
Going by the memory lane, Leny alias Dr Leonard Gonsalves, who is running Infant Jesus English Medium School on Bomaby Press Road here said that his and `Raja’s family had a familiar relationship and both were grown up like brothers.

Yedugoori Sandinti Venkat Reddy, grand father of YSR was a Lord Venkateshwara devotee till Father Rolls and Sister Noble descended on his Balpanur village, near Pulivendla, Cuddapah district. The two British Protestants struck a chord in Venkat Reddy's heart, and he embraced Christianity.
YSR father, Y S Raja Reddy, who took contract work of Tungabhadra High Level Canal found Bellary a suitable place for the education of his five children and also to pursue his contract and transport business and in 1958, he settled down in Bellary with his family.
YSR pursued his high school education from 7th standard to 11th standard (then, SSLC) in St. John’s High School located in Fort area here.
“In the end of high school study, Father Pinto asked every boy what they want to become in their professional life after completing studies. Every boy started giving regular answers of becoming doctor and engineer. But, Raja stood up and said that he would become a minister one day and serve people. He achieved his ambition, But, unfortunately God gave him lesser time to serve people”, Leny adds with tearful eyes.
Later, YSR joined the intermediate course at Loyola College in Vijayawada for a year. Then, it was required to complete either one-year Pre Professional Course or one-year B Sc to get admission into medicine. Therefore, YSR joined Veerashaiva Vidhyavardhak Sangh College to do B Sc for a year.
Subsequently, he got admission into MBBS at Mahadevappa Rampure Medical College in Gulbarga. Mr. Reddy's initiation into politics began in Gulbarga when he was elected president of the Mahadevappa Rampure Medical College Students' Union. He completed his MBBS in 1972.

After the completion of children’s education in Bellary, Raja Reddy (who was murdered in 1998) shifted family his to native Pulivendla in Cuddapah district of AP.
Even after he left Bellary, I and other some friends are in regular touch with YSR. I used to meet him on every alternative month. Even after becoming Chief Minister, he showered same love and affection on me and I only initiated to launch `SRR Friends and Fans Association’ which in turn helped him lot in previous assembly election”, he said.

Leny who met Raja, just eight days ago in Hyderabad broke into tears while showing the black and white photograph of young Raja in his college days, said,” though I am humble principal of a small school today, Raja, being a Chief Minister always treated me in dignified way and proudly introduced me to many big people. He always remained as my close friend Raja of St John’s School and never been a powerful chief minister”.

Going by Memory Lane:

YSR avid sportsmen:

Ashwath Singh, an agriculturist in Kamalapur said that he always competed with YSR in foot ball match. “Even Raja Reddy, father of Raja used to invite me to play foot ball with his son. Despite strict restrictions from hostel warden Francis, ex-army men, we all used to spend most time on swimming and rifle shooting. But, till today those days are very much green in my heart when Raja used to play touching tunes on his flute and I used to play beagle”

YSR affectionate personality:

Narasimha Murthy, agriculturist in Hosa Daroji was a junior to YSR in school and also hostel mate said that YSR was well off among other boys in school, but never been arrogant.In those days itself, his father, Raja Reddy used to come by a jeep to see his children in hostel, but he too never shown superiority and used to freely mingle with other boys.
“Raja was very good at keeping text books neatly and orderly on shelve in hostel room. After passing the examinations, he used to gift his books to junior friends. He gifted some valuable books on Physics to me. Till date, I keep at as a treasured asset.”

Emotional Boy

Former Bellary MP Kolur Basavanagouda who served as a non-teaching staff with Veerashaiva College when YSR was a B Sc first year student (1964-65) there recalls that Rajashekhar was a "good, but emotional" boy unlike his brothers George Reddy and Vivekananda Reddy. He was seen always leading a gang of boys in the college. He was mischievous, but never been arrogant or harmful to other students though he was well off compared to other boys in the college.

Operation Lotus: Reddys' formula a hit , but not Yeddyurappa's

By Shivakumar G Malagi/ 23-08-2009

With the results of five Assembly byelections out on Friday, an acolyte of the Reddy brothers had this to say, "At least now, CM Yed- dyurappa must realise that no MLA poached in Opera- tion Kamal will get re-elect- ed without the support of the Reddys!" A huge gathering of party- men outside `Kuteeram', home-office of tourism min- ister G. Janardhan Reddy, analysing elections results concluded that the BJP can- not win elections without the `active participation' of the Reddy brothers. Insiders insist that byelection results have strength ened the Reddy brothers grip on Yeddyurappa government, since Oper- ation Kamal engineered by the Chief Minister's camp failed with the defeat of V.
Somanna and C.P. Yogesh- war. Whereas, the Opera- tion Kamal orchestrated by the Reddy Brothers was suc- cessful in getting nearly half a dozen opposition MLAs re-elected in by-elections including three ministers; Balachandra L. Jarkiholi; K. Shivannagouda Naik and Anand V. Asnotikar. Speaking to Shivakumar G. Malagi, a beaming tourism minister G.Janardhan Reddy would have none of it, claiming it was a collective victory for the party.

Excerpts:

Do you claim credit for the victory of Chittapur and Kollegal where only Reddy brothers campaigned brothers campaigned for the party and nowhere else this time?

Reddy: (Smiles) I cannot say it's a victory of any individual.
But, it's really a collective achievement to be shared right from the Chief Minister to the common worker.

How do you analyse the defeat of BJP in Ramanagara, Channapatna and Govindraj Nagar?

Reddy: We all agree that Ramanagara and Channapatna are strongholds of former PM H.D. Deve Gowda's family.I do not see a special reason for BJP candidates' defeat there, since Gowda clan put every effort to win those seats. But, I am sure JD(S) does not have any relevance outside Old Mysore region.Whereas in Govindraj Nagar, I do not want to analyse the defeat of minister V. Somanna, but certainly the party has improved its vote share in the constituency. In fact, more than the defeat of the BJP in three seats, the Congress has suffered a major setback in its traditional strongholds. In Kollegal and Chittapur, G.N. Nanjundaswamy and Valmiki Naik, relatively unknown candidates defeated Congress party. Hence, owning moral responsibility, Siddaramaiah must resign from the post of Leader of Opposition in Assembly.
He has proved that his leadership is a flop show and has lost the much-touted image of `backward community leader'.
"Reddy-engineered Operation Kamal proved a success, but CM Yeddyurappa-orchestrated Operation Kamal boomeranged on the BJP in elections": this is the opinion of your followers. Comment.
Reddy: (Smiles) There is nothing like that. First, I do not want to use the term `Operation Kamal.' The migration of legislators happened even during the regime of S.M.Krishna and H.D. Deve Gowda in the state. V.Somanna and C.P. Yogeshwar joined the BJP having accepted party ideology and leadership of B.S. Yeddyurappa.
Now, it is not fair to say that Operation Kamal boomeranged when they have both been defeated in elections, since there were 8-10 opposition legislators who joined the BJP and got re-elected in the byelection on BJP ticket last year.

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H.D. Kumaraswamy JD(S) : Despite the BJP abusing its money and muscle power, especially in Channapatna, we have won, showing that the JD(S) is unshakeable in this belt. On the other hand, people have yet again rejected the Congress, giving it just one seat. Unless its state unit changes its attitude, they face a tough future.

R.V. Deshpande, KPCC president : Our results were unexpected. We were aware of our difficulties in Channapatna and Ramanagara after the Lok Sabha polls, but Chittapur and Kollegal losses are a bad shock. There was total unity among party leaders, we did not lose because of our fault, but because the BJP misused its money and power.


D V Sadananda Gowda, BJP state president :BJP isn't satisfied, although Chittapur and Kollegal have come as bonuses. JD(S) snatched Channapatna with blackmail tactics.Elections there weren't fair. But we can't fathom the Govindraj Nagar loss -despite having put up a candidate who has contributed so much to its development.
Sadananda Gowda, BJP state president

KMF to reduce fodder price to rescue inflation hit dairy farmers

KMF to reduce fodder price to rescue inflation hit dairy farmers

By Shivakumar G Malagi/Aug 19

In Sridharagadde Primary Milk Producers Cooperative Association in Bellary, the association where Karnataka Cooperative Milk Producers' Federation Ltd (KMF) chairman G Somashekhar Reddy having a primary membership, farmer Hanumanthappa gets Rs 15 a litre for the milk he produces, compared with Rs 13 last year.
The price of cattle feed he buys was Rs 940 per bundle of 100 kg now. It was Rs 870 a year ago. Inflation has helped the already high fodder prices shoot up, leaving milk farmers gasping.
"Today, a litre bottle of mineral water costs as much as milk. Unfortunately, we are earning next to nothing given the high cost of production," he says about the state's largest agricultural commodity that provides bread and butter to the around 24 lakh dairy farmers, most of them are landless agricultural labourers.
The Sridharagadde Association story repeats itself in every village cooperative milk unions. Narsimha, who supplies 120 litres milk to the Bellary-Raichur Coop Milk Producers' Union Ltd, says that the average price that he gets is Rs 14 to Rs 15. That price too, is dependent on the fat content, which in turn depends on the fodder.
According to him, husk, which cost Rs 700 a quintal a few months ago, is now priced at Rs 1,100, green feed has gone up to Rs 900 a quintal from Rs 700, blackgram thrash from 700 to Rs 800 and maize from Rs 700 to Rs 900 per quintal. These apart, the labourers are demanding Rs 2,500 to Rs 3000, a month compared with Rs 1,000 last year.
"The rising cattle-feed cost is making it difficult for us to sustain our dairy operations. We take loans or obtain advances from private dairies, which only pushes us into a trap," said Narsimha of Sangankal village.
Having seen the effect of rising cattle-feed cost on the milk production, newly elected Board of Directors of KMF has offered booster to `inflation-hit’ dairy farmers by reducing fodder prices up to Rs 500 per tonne which came close on the heels of state government’s recent intervention to cushion the dairy producers against inflation by raising the support prices marginally by Rs 2.
Newly elected KMF chairman G Somashekhar Reddy told Deccan Chronicle that slow climb in milk prices and the rising fodder prices are pinching the small and marginal farmers in the state, who own 75 per cent of the livestock. Fodder prices have shot up since 2000, thanks to exports and central excise duty on molasses, which is used to make fodder. The recent inflationary trends have only added to the woes.
KMF has set up four cattle-feed plants across the state and produces two varieties of cattle feed- one is regular and another is special fodder with added nutrition. Every month around 30,000 tonnes of cattlefeed is supplied to farmers on a ‘no profit, no loss' basis,” While the price of `special’ cattle feed being supplied by KMF to the farmers is 11 per kg, that sold by private players is Rs 13.50 per kg.
Mr Reddy stated that prices of `regular cattle feed’ was hiked to Rs 9,400 per tonne from Rs 8,700 and `special cattle feed’ went up to Rs 11,000 per tonne from Rs 9,600 previous year.
“The rising fodder prices sure to play spoiler with the target of KMF becoming No.1 milk federation in the country. Hence, the newly elected body of KMF decided to reduce cattle feed price that was hiked during H D Revanna regime by Rs 500 per tonne. Since, Federation has earned Rs 3.96 crore net profits previous year and this profit will be returned to farmers by reducing the fodder prices, even though production cost remains unchanged.”, he remarked.

Disclosing that new rates of cattle feed will come in force from August 21, he said, “in addition to state government’s support price of Rs 2 per litre, farmer will get Rs 50 paisa incentive for buying a kilo of cattle feed from the KMF totaling a minimum of Rs 15.50 earning to a litre of milk produced.”

`Raising contracts’ hoodwink mineral rule book in Bellary

By Shivakumar G Malagi

Bellary, Aug 2/2009: Though the title `Mineral Raising Contract Agreement’ is termed illegal in the mineral rule book, it has become an unwritten rule came into effect of late in multi-billion worth Bellary iron ore mining business.
Highly placed industry sources told Deccan Chronicle that mining operation in as many as 44 mining leases of the 78 running mines in Bellary-Sandur-Hospet sector is being carried out under the raising contract agreement entered into with `powerful’ mine lords of Bellary.
Raising Contract is an agreement permitting a third person to carry out mining activity on behalf of the mining lease holder which is in violation of Rule 37, 37A and 46 of the Mineral Concession Rules, 1960 and contrary to the covenant of clause 17 and 18 of Part VII of the Mining Lease deed.

Despite of this, industry sources say that 44 mine lease holders have agreed for raising contract, in addition to this, eight lease holders are in negotiation stage to draw modalities of agreement.
“Of late, accepting Bellary mine lords raising contract offer has become unavoidable for mine owners in district, if I deny the offer, it is sure that I will not get permits from mines and geology department to transport ore and face a many departmental hurdles to operate mines. Instead of leaving mines abandoned, I thought it is better to give them on contract”, remarked a Sandur mine owner who accepted 40-60 agreement offer with Bellary mine lords.
Industry sources say that contract agreements have entered into either with profit sharing or ore purchasing (by mine lords only) module. However, powerful mine lords often insist for profit sharing module where actual lease holder has to agree for meagre 30 or 40 per cent, while mine lord will get lion share of 60 or 70 per cent. Of late, nearly 60 pe cent of the Bellary mining field has come under the controll of powerful Bellary mine lords.
In actual terms, it was not an agreement registered on record with Sub-Registrar Office and does not hold legal sanctity. It is a faith-based understanding entered into between two parties-mine lease holder and contractor. There fore, it is `practically difficult' for law enforcing agencies to initiate action against lease holder for violating Mineral Concession Rules, 1960.
Despite this, Lokayukta in its report had referred 39 cases of “raising contracts” used for illegal mining including that of state-owned Mysore Minerals Ltd in region. Even, Senior IFS officer Dr. U.V. Singh, in his annexure to the Lokayukta report remarked that Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) owned by Karnataka ministers’ Mr Janardhana Reddy, Mr Karunakar Reddy and Mr Sriramulu has a mining lease in Andhra Pradesh, bordering Bellary district, has allegedly encroached into Karnataka by entering into a raising contract agreement with Hind Traders, a mining lessee on the Karnataka side.
Acting on the Lokayukta report, a senior officer of the Department of Mines and Geology, Bangalore said that department has issued show-cause notices to mining leases allegedly operating under raising contract, but could not take action due to the `absence of registered sub-lease documents'.

“Bellary mine lords explore an average of 1.50 lakh tonne iron ore valuing around Rs. 38 crores per day from the around 44 raising contract leases. Minus expenditure, tax, duty charges and lease holder share, they will get around Rs 15 crore profit income per day. Government must immediately find ways to act on mining leases operating under raising contract, since it nothing less than a multi-crore scam”, remarks a mine owner whose mine shut down for not accepting the Bellary mine lords offer.

India's First Private Sector Gold Mines in Karnataka

Twenty-four year Durgappa Harakeri, a BA dropout residing in Attikatti village in Gadag is no different from other lads of this impoverished north Karnataka region. He had many reasons to discontinue his studies. They include an irregular bus service, the need to support his ageing father and earn for his eightmember family besides paying back loans taken from the local money lender who helped the family after a crop loss.
He was set to migrate to Goa or Mumbai to work as a construction labourer this year like many other youth when the news came of a gold mine being set up in the village with a 3,000 strong population. What lies beneath the surface could turn out to be a bonanza for people of Attikatti including Durgappa.
"I have dropped my plan to move out of the village. The mining company has already hired me on daily wages to dig trenches in the mining area. I hope to get a confirmed job once the plant is set up," says Durgappa.
With Ramgad Minerals and Mining Pvt Ltd (RMMPL), a firm which is part of mining major Mineral Sales Private Ltd (MSPL) Group obtaining a license to mine gold ore in the reserved forest near Jellikatti village and proposing to set up a gold processing unit and tailing point near Attikatti village 20 km from Gadag town, there is a spurt in activity in the once sleepy villages of Attikatti-DoneeJelligeri and a couple of Lambani community hamlets in the belt.
The frequent visits of `camp sahebs' (RMMPL officials) in their flashy cars to the mining area and talk about the proposed gold plant have left local people with hopes of earning a livelihood when the gold plant is set up.
Attikatti villagers and the Lambani hamlet tribals are willing to part with their rain-fed agricultural land for the gold processing and tailing point but they insist that their conditions should be fulfilled.
The villagers are demanding from RMMPL what they did not get from elected governments till date. The demand list includes facilities for education, healthcare, sanitation, civic infrastructure, employment and ensuring that the environment is not affected and the people do not suffer health hazards due to mining.
RMMPL has already acquired around 80 acres of farming land, 40 acres each for the processing plant and the tailing point compensating each acre with Rs 1.85 lakh. But many of the farmers have used the compensation to pay back their loans and renovate their houses.They are now waiting for the daily wage jobs offered by the company and hope to get confirmed jobs once the plant is set up.
Except for a few, most of the remaining farmers belong to the scheduled castes and economically weaker sections. The youth are more than willing to part with their land to get a job in the gold factory, something the elders do not approve of. The elders have their reasons: bore wells dug in their farms are drying up and the situation may deteriorate when the company digs bore wells in the forests to get water for the plant.
62-year old Erappa Hanumanthappa Hittalamani says he hopes for a better future for the next generation. "But there are some dangers associated with mining such as the use of cyanide. The company should ensure the safety of not only people but also livestock."

"We are convinced that the gold plant will improve our living standards. But our consent is strictly tied to some conditions. If the RMMPL overlook these conditions, we will launch a satyagraha opposing the plant." ---Erappa Hanumanthappa Hittalamani Farmer of Attikatti

"I sacrificed my source of livelihood -- 10 acres of land -- to RMMPL to see my tiny village in the country's map as a producer of gold. I hope there is a golden age awaiting this backward region after the gold plant comes up." ---Halanagouda Basavanagouda Patil who handed over his 10-acre plot for the plant.

"Gold mining is a meticulous process and an expensive venture. But we still promise that the entire Gadag region will see prosperity and economic growth. Care will be taken to protect the environment".... B.L. Jain, vice-president, Gadag Gold Project, RMMPL

The discovery of gold ore deposits in and around Gadag is not a recent phenomenon. Kapatthgudda and Jelligeri hill range have always been rich with minerals such as gold, manganese and iron ore.
Smelling a fortune, local gold diggers are still searching for the precious metal using various means: during the rains, they place sieves in the water coming down the hills and collect grains of the precious metal which they sell to local goldsmiths. They also take up sub-surface mining wherever they strike gold veins.Local traders still go to villages in Shirahatti taluk to buy gold stone from the villagers.
Presently, the Karnataka governmentowned Hutti Gold Mines Ltd (HGML) with mining operations in Raichur district is the only gold producer in the country with proven gold ore reserves of 31.02 tonnes. The more famous Bharat Gold Mines Ltd (the Central-government owned agency located at Kolar Gold Fields), is now defunct.
RMMPL obtained a license for gold mining for the first time in the country ending the monopoly of public sector units over gold mining. Government has sanctioned 39.7 hectares to RMMPL in the reserved forest hill range near Jelligeri village and the company is awaiting clearance from the Union ministry of environment and forests to begin mining and start its gold processing plant by 2010.
According to authorities, RMMPL is planning a 1,000 tonne per day mine near Jelligeri and a matching processing plant in nearby Attikatti. It has found economically viable deposits that have low grade gold ore of 2.4/2.5 gram per tonne which will be treated in the processing plant to get 1.9/2 gram per tonne after the recovery.
Allaying fears over the gold mining and processing plant, Mr B.L. Jain, vice president, Gadag Gold Project, RMMPL, in an interview with Deccan Chronicle, gave details of the company's plans. Excerpts.Mining has always threatened the environment. Your venture is another blow to the reserved forest in Gadag.First let me make it clear that we are not taking up mining in Kappatgudda hill range that has endangered flora and fauna. We are permitted to mine near Jelligeri reserve forest area that is 30 km away from Kapatgudda hill and also some distance away from Tungabhadra River. In fact, three environmental surveys have been done by reputed institutions covering a buffer zone of 10 km surrounding the mining area and processing plant and these reports have been submitted to MoEF for clearance.
After all, this is not a factory, there will be no chimneys, no smoke and the amount of dust will be minimal which will be managed by sprinkling water.
The use of cyanide in gold processing has sparked fear among the locals. How will you discharge it?Our plant will be most modern and will use the same process which has been adopted by Hatti Gold Mines. We will have a detoxication plant to recover gold.The cyanide content in the slurry will be .2 part per million that is much lower than the permissible limit. We will put bentonate and black cotton soil in the tailing point. The plant is designed on a zero discharge model where not a single drop of water will go out. After decantation, water will be circulated back to the plant.So people need not be concerned about the discharge of decanted water into the ground and its effect on the soil.How much production is expected from this mining venture?This is an experimental plant which is being set up at a cost of around Rs 60 crore. We have marginal deposits of 2.4 gram gold per tonne ore in this area. Initially we will go for open cast mining down to 40-60 metres and expect to extract 2.5 lakh tonne ore per year and later increase it to 3 lakh tonne. If the venture is found to be economical, we will go for underground mining.How will the plant benefit people?It will generate employment for 100 unskilled people and indirect employment for 300. In addition, we plan to adopt the village and provide all civic amenities to improve the social status of the villagers.

Reddys pray for more: Offers crown to God of Seven Hills

June 12, 2009

Shivakumar G Malagi

The Reddy broth ers made a thanksgiving offering of a Rs 45 crore diamond-studded gold crown to the Lord Venkateshwara temple in Tirupati on ThursdayWhile tourism minister Gali Janardhan Reddy was reluctant to discuss the value of the jewelled crown, his elder brother, Bellary city MLA Somashekhar Reddy, let the cat out of the bag by revealing that it was worth around Rs 45 croreHe also disclosed that the crown weighs 30 kg and took nine months for the diamond workers of Coimbatore to make. The crown will adorn Mool Virat, the presiding deity of Lord VenkateswaraThe MLA denied the offering had anything to do with the brothers’ political ambitions or that they were hoping for the chief minister’s chair“If the chief minister’s post was written in our fate, who could have stopped us from assuming it? God has already made us Cabinet ministers and we are not power hungry,” he said, speaking to reportersAccording to him, Mr Janardhan Reddy had offered the crown to the Lord of the seven hills as a thanksgiving gesture, for being able to establish the Brahmani Steel plant and provide employment to 20,000 people in Kadapa and its surrounding districts Sources close to the Reddy family said that on February 9, 2009, Janardhan Reddy’s wife, Lakshmi had performed a ‘Kathyani Vrtham’ at Bellary at a cost of Rs 40 lakh for the success of her husband in the Brahmini Steel project and for his political growthMr Somashekhar Reddy performed a Yagna along with his relative — OMC director and present Congress MLA from Rayadurga constituency, Ramachandra Reddy in Andhra Pradesh at Nemakallu Anjanneyaswamy temple. “All three Reddy brothers are god-fearing and have their own favourite deities.” a close aide said

New MLAs trip up Reddys’ coup plan to dethrone CM Yeddyurappa

June 16, 2009

Shivakumar G Malagi

It must be the shortest rebellion to dateAnd B.S. Yeddyurappa has first time MLAs and their reluctance to give up their hard won seats, as well the need for the Reddys brothers to safeguard their business interests, to thank for the coup going awry The short-lived rebellion that surfaced during the first anniversary of the BJP government on May 31, was spelt out by Bellary MLA G. Somashekhar Reddy on June 3. But it sputtered and died on June 14 when the Reddys’ close aide and health minister Sriramulu said, “We have no differences with the CM and we are part and parcel of the BJP government and will strive to fulfil promises made to the people”With the announcement on Monday that the Reddy brothers were attending the Vikas Sankalp Utsav in Davanagere on June 16, the rebellion is a “closed chapter.” Insiders said that the architect of the gameplan was Janardhan Reddy who, disregarding his brother Karunakar Reddy and Sriramulu’s advice, pushed for the post of deputy CM post and the dropping of some ministers close to BSY“When the CM did not pay serious attention to our demands, Janardhan Reddy knocked on the doors of the RSS and the BJP high commandFailing that, he approached 20 MLAs whose election he had bankrolled, and asked them to resign. But only 12 MLAs including some independent MLAs turned ministers initially supported the idea,” one of the MLAs, requesting anonymity, revealed. He said most of them were young, firsttimers to the assembly“We were ready to openly claim that Janardhan Reddy is our leader. But we opposed the en masse resig nation idea that would have proved fatal to our political careers as we would be seen as destabilising a government headed by a member of the dominant Lingayat community”, the MLA admitted, adding that Lingayat vote plays a major role in winning elections in the constituencies of many of the MLAs who back the Reddy brothersThe other factor that stopped the Reddys in their tracks was the advice by their business advisors that they must play safe in politics until the completion of several projects they have in the pipeline“The Reddys could not take a chance of conducting experiments in power poli tics at this period as they need to be in power to protect their businesses and get sanction from state and centre for ongoing projectsThey were in fact alarmed at the prospect of a possible alliance between Yeddyurappa and JD(s) amid speculation that Yeddyurappa was meeting H D RevannaThat would have been fatal for the Reddys in both politics and business,” he remarkedBut only 12 MLAs including some independent MLAs turned ministers initially supported the idea,” one of the MLAs, requesting anonymity, revealed“We were ready to openly claim that Janardhan Reddy is our leader. But we opposed the en masse resignation idea that would have proved fatal to our political careers as we would be seen as destabilising a government headed by a member of the dominant Lingayat community”, the MLA admitted, adding that Lingayat vote plays a major role in winning elections in the constituencies of many of the MLAs who back the Reddy brothersThe other factor that stopped the Reddys in their tracks was the advice by their business advisors that they must play safe in politics until the completion of several projects they have in the pipeline. “The Reddys could not take a chance of conducting experiments at this period as they need to be in power to protect their businesses and get sanction from state and centre. They were in fact alarmed at the prospect of an alliance between Yeddyurappa and JD(S) amid speculation that Yeddyurappa was meeting H.D. Revanna. That would have been fatal for the Reddys in both politics and business,” he remarked

Fertile Land Acquired for Bellary Airport

July 2, 2009

Shivakumar G Malagi

Farmers who have been protesting the acquisition of their land in Sangankal, Siriwar and Chaganur villages for a greenfield airport in Bellary, claim the government has described their fertile land as dry in the gazette notification, in a deliberate move to mislead public opinionMinister for tourism and infrastructure development, Janardhan Reddy who is firm on the new airport for Bellary coming up on the site chosen near Chaganur and Siriwar on the outskirts of the city, despite the protests, recently told reporters that a gazette notification had been issued to acquire 1,250 acres in Chaganur and Siriwar villagesFarmers who have studied the gazette notification, claim it has falsely classified their fertile agriculture land as dry (kushki)They point out that the seven acres belonging to one Nemakallappa, which bears the survey No 290 A/1, has been notified as dry although the Land Record of Rights says water is being supplied to them from the high level canal of the Tungabhadra damFarmers also dispute the claim made by Mr Janardhan Reddy on the floor of the Legislative Council that the land identified for the airport did not have an irrigation canal, natural drainage or a lake. They point out that revenue department records show that agriculture land here gets water from the high level canal of the Tungabhadra dam and is served by a natural drain, Chagalamma Halla, which feeds around 500 acresLeader of the Chaganur farmers Mallikarjun Reddy says if the 1250 acres notified by the government are acquired, irrigation canal water supply, currently routed through them, will be cut off for some 4,000 acres, turning them barren“The government did not have the courtesy to invite us for talks even when we went on a padayatra to Bengaluru. It has now issued a gazette notification for land acquisition. It is being dishonest with usWe have decided not to give up our land at any cost and to continue with our agitation,” he said.
----------------“The government did not have the courtesy to invite us for talks even when we went on a padayatra to Bengaluru. It has now issued a gazette notification for land acquisitionIt is being dishonest with us.” — Chaganur farmer leader-advocate Mallikarjun Reddy

Andhra Pradesh ‘permits’ Karnataka mining

July 8, 2009

Shivakumar G Malagi

As controversy swirls over whether the Bellary mine barons will get their comeuppance in the Assembly session that opens on July 9, where the Congress and the JD(S) have vowed to take up the issue, reports from Karnataka’s iron ore rich districts indicate that permits were issued by the department of mines and geology in Andhra Pradesh to illegally transport minerals excavated from reserved forests and leased mines in the Bellary-Sandur-Hospet belt to different ports in Karnataka and GoaIn other words, some mine owners seem to have been consistently bending the rules by availing of a mining license from Andhra Pradesh but mining in Karnataka, that is, the daylight robbery of the state’s mineral wealth in reserved forests and leased minesDeputy director of mines and geology, Hospet, Siqander Basha, when contacted, claimed illegal mining on revenue patta land and in forests had been curbed in the district and only genuine state permits were being used for mineral transportation“It is wrong to say that Andhra permits are being used to transport state mineralsAs far as my knowledge goes, everything is being done in compliance with MMRD Act. I don’t know who is using AP permits to transport mineral from the state,” he saidBut according to industry sources, the modus operandi of this illegal mining mafia was to obtain permits given for lower grade ironore mines in the Kadapa, Kurnool, Veldurthi, Pellimari mining belt in Andhra Pradesh, and use them to transport minerals illegally excavated from reserved forests in Gangalapur, Vittalapur, Rajapur, Appenahalli, Ubbalagundi and other areas in Sandur-HospetIllegal movement of iron ore lumps from mines on the Karnataka border to crushing units in Malapanagudi and Siddapur villages in Andhra Pradesh is as rampant, sources said. In the absence of check-posts of the mines and geology and forest departments, the lumps sent to Andhra Pradesh for powdering return to Karnataka with Andhra permits, entitling the AP government to the royaltyA mine owner who did want to be named,claimed that apart from Andhra permits, the politically strong mining mafia sometimes raise contracts of mining leases only to encroach on adjoining mineral rich leased areas or reserved forest landThey then get permits in the names of fully excavated mines for transporting the excavated mineral. The mafia is reportedly active in the Ramanadurga hill range which has high quality iron ore and is allegedly also looting the virgin blocks or unexploited mining areas in the Kumaraswamy hill range“The mining mafia loots the reserved and virgin block mineral deposits in connivance with forest officers and the police,” sources maintainedIn July 2007, Lokayukta N. Santosh Hegde is said to have written to the secretary, mines and geology, Mahendra Jain informing him that bulk permits issued by his department were being misused. A top official of a public sector mining company, who referred to the letter, said although the Lokayukta had suggested that the officers at the border check-posts should endorse the routes and also the quantity of minerals that were being carried, no action was taken.

The letter that sparked the Reddy brothers’ rebellion

The letter that sparked the Reddy brothers’ rebellion and rocked the B.S. Yeddyurappa government, is in DC’s possession.
Addressed to “Dear Kapil Sibalji’ the minister for science and technology in the previous Dr Manmohan Singh government, the Chief Minister wrote to the Centre in February ’09, asking for a survey of the “disputed border between Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh” in the mineral rich Bellary Reserve Forest.
The letter, said to be behind the move to bring down the BSY government that the clearly annoyed mining barons-turnedpoliticians initiated, has Mr Yeddyurappa saying, “There were allegations of mining companies in both Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, indulging in illegal activities, taking advantage of the dispute.”
There is an apprehension this has resulted in a huge loss of revenue to the state.
Mr Yeddyurappa's letter dated February 2, 2009 requests the union minister to instruct the director general, Survey of India, Dehradun, to jointly survey the disputed boundary line passing through BRF in Bellary, Karnataka and Ananthpur, Andhra Pradesh.
He adds, “Although this matter was taken up with Andhra Pradesh government, the required co-operation has not been forthcoming.
Lokayukta has drawn the attention of the state government to this dispute and has advised to approach the Indian government for an amicable settlement...” Much to the embarrassment of revenue minister G Karunakar Reddy, his own department principal secretary, D. Thangaraj, wrote to the director general, Survey of India, on January 16, 2009 appealing for a joint survey of the disputed area.
The government’s stand is different from that of minister Mr Reddy who, in his writ appeal filed before the high court of judicature in Andhra Pradesh, argued that directing the Survey of India at this stage to verify the existence or re-fixation of the GTS points to determine the boundary line was “unsustainable”. He claimed the GTS points had lost their relevance as an Andhra Pradesh high level committee had already fixed the vil lage boundary between Obulapuram and Siddapuram.
The Dr U V Singh Committee report on illegal mining said the GTS points at Sugglammagudda hillock ( in Andhra Pradesh) and Timmappanagudda hillock (in Karnataka) were destroyed in mining.
Tapal Ganesh, co-owner Tumati Iron Ore Mines company, says only re-fixing of the two original GTS points can help assess the actual extent of encroachment.

Will Sushma taste victory through Shanthi in Bellary ?

By Shivakumar G Malagi

April 2009

Bellary mining lords-BJP Reddy Brothers say they have fielded Joladarashi Shanthi, sister of their lieutenant- health minister B Sriramulu from the ST-reserved Bellary Lok Sabha constituency to gift the `victory’ to their `Amma’ Sushma Swaraj who unsuccessfully fought against AICC chief Sonia Gandhi from the same seat in 1999 and succeeded to sow Saffron seeds in this Congress fortress.
Over the ten-year period, the boom in iron ore mining industry has changed the political scenario in this mineral-rich district turning the strong Congress party bastion into a Saffron citadel. Reddys emerged big from the dusty iron ore mine fields to lead the Saffron brigade towards one after another electoral victory in the district, no doubt with their money power. The Reddys money has got arms to hit into the Congress citadel with the support of popular mass leader-Walmiki community strongmen-Sriramulu.
Now, the Reddys have again relied upon Sriramulu by fielding PUC II year passed house-wife Shanthi against Congress candidate-retired chief justice of High Court N Y Hanumanthappa to sustain their political hegemony that is most required for them to rule the money-minting mining industry in district.
Sushma Swaraj in her campaign in Bellary tore into Congress’ ‘GenNext’ leaders, saying they had become leaders by virtue of being born into rich, political families, even as Bellary’s powerful mine baron and state tourism minister Janardhan Reddy anointed Ms Swaraj the BJP’s next prime ministerial candidate, after Mr L.K. Advani.
Speaking at the last election rally for the first phase of Lok Sabha polls in the state, with Ms Swaraj by his side, Mr Reddy said, “It is because of her annual Varamahalakshmi pooja in Bellary that the party has grown into an unbeatable political force. Sriramulu (health minister) and I campaigned for her on our bikes in 1999. Today, we own two-three helicopters.
That’s why we decided to field a woman candidate as a way to say thanks to her.” Ms Swaraj took a dig at Congress’ young leaders — Rahul Gandhi, Jyothiraditya Scindia, Sachin Pilot, Jatin Prasad and Priya Dutt — saying they had been made leaders on “compassionate grounds” after the death of their fathers.
She told voters not to vote for the Congress because it had removed anti-terror laws and had denied that Lord Ram had existed.
While, Shanthi, the youngest child of a railway employee and farmer mother Honnuramma, 70, who still tills the family land, says, “I come from a very poor family, I’ve worked in the fields, and there are days when we have starved, when my mother had nothing to feed the eight of us. I know and understand what poor people feel.”
Shanthi in her campaign in the Valmiki-dominated township of Devinagar, where Telugu is the lingua franca and the family’s tiny home is no different from hundreds that open out on to the foul-smelling street, everyone knows this 36year-old mother by name and face.
“I have come in the name of my brother,” she says, as she knocks on these doors. Blessed with the gift of the gab and an unerring political instinct, the smooth-talking Shantha cuts away to visit the home of a young mother who has lost her ninemonth-old baby. She admits she’s learnt at the feet of the master. She ran her brother’s campaign less than a year ago during the assembly elections and before that in 2004, when the popular 38-year-old won hands down, stepping into the vacuum left by the Congress, which clearly has no stomach for a fight.
Some residual Congress support lingers, even in Sreeramulu’s domain, with one old-timer saying “if Indira’s grand-daughter stands, I will vote for her.” Shantha is unfazed. “I’m doing this because my brother asked me to. I ran his campaign so I know the ins and out of running an election. After he became a minister, he had no time to meet the people from the constituency. They are so used to running to him with every problem, now they come to me.” The question is whom will they turn to, if, or should that be when, she goes to Delhi?
Will Sushma taste victory through Shanthi in Bellary after ten-years –is the question to get answer on May 16, 2009, when the results out.

Sriramulu’s clarion call for sister

By Shivakumar G Malagi

Bellary/March/2009

In the epic,“Mahabaratha,” charioteer Sri Krishna blew the Panchajanya, a conch to stir Lord Arjuna into performing his duties in the battle of Kurukshetra. Health minister B. Sriramulu did a repeat on Monday in Bellary by blowing a conch to stir his sister, Shanthi—the BJP candidate—into fighting and winning the battle for the Bellary Lok Sabha seat, reserved for Scheduled Tribes.
Ms Shanthi began her election campaign on Monday from Yerrithatha temple in Chellagurki, near her native village, Joladarashi on the Karnataka—Andhra Pradesh border. She, accompanied by Mr Sriramulu and her mentor, tourism minister G. Janardhan Reddy performed pooja at a temple before addressing a huge public meeting.
Blowing the Panchajanaya modelled conch amid applause by a nearly 10,000 strong crowd, Mr Sriramulu signalled the start of the poll battle against the rival Congress and JD(S) which are yet to announce their candidates. Mr Janardhan Reddy, probably inspired by BJP’s prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani, has launched a “Ratha Yatra” hinting at a a high-pitch campaign in the constituency. Accompanied by Ms Shanthi and Mr Sriramulu, Mr Reddy climbed on a specially manufactured chariot to blow the Panchajanya.
Ms Shanthi who has done her PUC, read out a written speech in Kannada and said, “I will work for the upliftment of the downtrodden and women following in the footsteps of my brothers, Sriramulu and Janardhan Reddy. I seek votes to strengthen their hands and work for the full fledged development of this constituency.” Lashing out at former Prime Minister H.D.Deve Gowda and the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre, Mr Janardhan Reddy said, “Bellary has become a citadel of the BJP today from the panchayat level to Parliament. Hence, we need your blessings to continue the BJP’s winning spree. I am confident Shanthi will create history in electoral politics by winning with a record margin.”

Pigeons to get votes for BJP: Aye mas-sakali massakali, udd mattakali mattakali

By Shivakumar G Malagi

Bellary/March / 2009

“Aye mas-sakali massakali, udd mattakali mattakali, aye massakali masa masa massakali, udd mattakali mattakali,” a popular song from the Hindi movie “Delhi 6,” seems to have inspired BJP leaders in Bellary including the powerful Reddy brothers to use homing pigeons for the Lok Sabha poll campaign.
Ms Joladarashi Shanthi, sister of health minister B.Sriramulu, is the BJP candidate for this constituency Pigeons were used extensively by the British Army during the Second World War. They were handed over to the Indian police before independence in 1947 and succeeded in carrying messages in monsoon conditions when modern communication devices failed.

The breeding of homing pigeons is common in every locality in this district with many people having hundreds of pigeons in their backyard.

Betting on homing pigeon races is also popular in Bellary.

Aware of the craze for homing pigeons, BJP leaders have decided to use the birds to make Ms Shanthi, hitherto an unknown face in the district, popular among voters.

Pigeon breeders who are friends of Mr Sriramulu— himself an avid keeper of the bird— have gifted as many as 1,000 pigeons to the BJP . “We plan to paint the BJP symbol, Lotus and stick the photograph of the candidate on the birds. We will then let them fly to villages and urban localities in the constituency.

This will help us reach at least 3 lakh voters by March end,” said district BJP spokesperson Sanjay Betageri.

BJP leaders assert that this will also help ensure that the tradition of breeding pigeons does not vanish. “These pigeons are excluded from the Wildlife Protection Act. So they can be used for the campaign. We use them as trusted messengers to reach every voter but we are also opposed to cruelty against animals and birds,” they claimed.

Other poll campaign modes of BJP:

* 10 dance and musical troupes from Bengaluru with noted artistes will perform during the campaign.
* magicians of the state will demonstrate the developmental works of the BJP governments with their “jadoo.”

*Voice recordings of party national leaders seeking votes for Bellary candidate Ms Shanthi and video recordings of developmental works will be played at village meetings.

UNESCO rejects in Hampi Master Plan

By Shivakumar G Malagi
March / 2008/ Hampi

After saying ‘no’to the reconstruction of the collapsed bridge here, Unesco has found the Rs 42 crore Hampi master plan unfit for the orderly growth of the World Heritage Site.
Minja Yang, Unesco Representative to India along with a team of experts, was here to work with the staff of the Hampi World Heritage Area Management Authority (HWHAMA) and chalk out a plan for the orderly development of the World Heritage Site.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Ms Yang said on Wednesday that the team which included experts in architecture and town planning, was here to work with the local staff and suggest to the authority the need to conduct a sectoral study to ensure orderly growth in Hampi.
Unesco, in association with GTZ, a German-based company, had been making a study on the architecture and designs that suit Hampi, the availability of material and so on. Ms Yang said that while the Master Plan had already been notified and was being implemented, the authorities also need to make a conservation plan for the core zone. “The state government is yet to conduct studies on transport, housing, waste disposal, restoration and other areas.
They have prepared the Master Plan without sectoral plans. I think, they wanted to finish the work on the Master Plan very fast,” She remarked.
She raised objections to the government building social houses in the hillocks of the Hampi area. “The natural landscape of Hampi will be ruined in ten years because of the construction of social houses every year, mushrooming of illegal hotels, the felling of trees and the absence of toilets and parking lots,” Ms Yang explained.
She suggested that the government should build low cost social houses outside the core zone. “By converting these social houses into traditional restaurants and lodges with the partnership of house owners, the government could promote cultural tourism. Not everyone wants to stay in star hotels when they visit places like Hampi,” She said.
When asked whether vested interests were preventing Unesco from bringing about changes in Hampi, she maintained, “We wanted to conserve Hampi and its rich heritage for the sake of locals here and not conservation for the sake of conservation. Individual interests and public interest do not go together; hence we have decided to safeguard public interest while making conservation efforts for Hampi.”
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Jindal Steel commissions India’s largest blast furnace

By Shivakumar G Malagi / Feb 18-2009/Bellary

Jindal Steel Works seems to have steeled itself in these tough times to commission the nation’s largest blast furnace at its Vijayanagar plant, modeled after the global steel major Gwangyang Steel Mill of South Korea's POSCO.
With the commissioning of the 4019-cubic metre, Blast Furnace-3 on Thursday in just 31 months, JSW, which spent Rs. 6,000 crore on it, expects to generate 8,000 direct jobs.
C. Shivasagar Rao, CEO and Joint MD, said BF-3 is the most modern furnace in the world, capable of achieving 10 mtpa.
“With 7 mtpa, JSW now equals the largest single steel plant of India (Tata Steels). When it reaches the 10 million tonne phase, it will become the largest single plant in India,” Rao said. “In a period of the worst global economic crisis, when other mills are shutting down, we are in hurry to create more steel for the development of the nation. But, I hate to export iron ore. That was done when India was not independent. We do not want to do that again, we should earn foreign exchange exporting finished goods, not the iron ore,” remarked Sajjan Jindal, vice-chairman and managing director of JSW.
Admitting that Tata Steels and JSW were neck-to-neck in the race for steel capacity, he said, “Today, we are ahead in production. But with its expansion plans, Tata Steels is pretty close to us. Let’s see who will produce more this year. I am confident that we will emerge big with the commissioning of the 10 mtpa project very shortly.” Ironically, JSW has been unable to get hold of a captive mine so far in this mineral-rich district.
This is despite the State government’s new mining policy laying focus on value-addition projects. Jindal attributed this to “long pending legal issues” and “hidden interests” in the mining business.

BELLARY POLICE FIRED TO DISPERSE FARMERS OPPOSING LAND ACQUISITION

By SHIVAKUMAR G MALAGI

Feb 15/2009


In what is seen as a grim reminder of the Haveri firing in June last year, the police on Sunday fired in the air to disperse a group of agitating farmers who were protesting against the acquisition of their agricultural land for construction of a green-field airport here. No casualties were reported.
Farmers from Siriwar, Sangankal and Chaganur villages have been protesting against the acquisition of their land for the past 40 days. According to eye-witnesses, the farmers number ing around a hundred, threatened to block National Highway 63 at Godehal Cross.
When the police tried to stop them, some farmers got into a verbal duel with the cops. The farmers who outnumbered the policemen, also damaged vehicles belonging to the police department, police sources said.
Sensing that the situation could go out of control, the police resorted to a mild lathicharge and fired tear gas shells to disperse the crowd. The Bellary tahasildar Bheemanaik made repeated pleas to the farmers to withdraw their stir and maintain peace but his attempts were in vain. After damaging police jeeps, the farmers beat up two police officials forcing the police to open fire in the air, police sources claimed.
“We were forced to fire seven rounds in the air to disperse the violent crowd that beat up two police inspectors and an assistant police inspector,” said superintendent of police Seemanthkumar Singh. He said the situation was now under control. Eleven people have been arrested in connection with the violence.
Reacting to the incident, Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa said it was a conspiracy of Congress leaders to defame the BJP-led government. “Opposition leaders were finding it difficult to tolerate the growing popularity of the BJP government and were desperately indulging in such activity,” he claimed.
Farmers’ leader Mallikarjun Reddy said, “Who wants the airport? This is a dream of a few mining lords at the cost of 10,000 farmers. Farmers need not lose their fertile lands to such whims and fancies of mining lords and realtors.”

Luck by chance: Villagers cash in on pot holes

By SHIVAKUMAR G MALAGI

Feb/2009

If mining is lucra tive in Bellary, so are its pothole-filled roads. Villagers get a steady supply of iron ore as trucks transporting it from the mines constantly hit potholes, spilling some of the mineral on the roads, which people scramble to collect and sell to middlemen, making a tidy sum in the bargain.
Villagers in the BellarySandur-Hospet mining belt bank on the poor condition of the 60 km stretch of NH63 between Hospet and Bellary and other roads, which the lorries trundle over, to make a quick buck.
Women and children from villages on either side of the Bellary-Hospet and Sandur-Hospet mining belt and Banjara hamlets in the Sandur forest near the mining fields on the KarnatakaAndhra Pradesh border, are out most days collecting the fallen stones black with their iron content. They wait for the ore-laden trucks heading to ports on the eastern and western coasts to pass, and leap to collect the iron ore that fall off when the vehicles hit huge cratelike potholes.
For Shivamma of Sushilanagar in Sandur the “black stones” that she collects mean no less than hard currency. “I collect a minimum of two baskets and earn around Rs 60 a day. There are many who have become rich selling these stones. What I earn is very little but it is enough to feed my family,” she says.
But the easy money comes at a price. According to the police, several women and children have been crushed to death by the lorries on these roads. “Children who are in a hurry to collect the ore jump onto the road as soon as they fall from the truck risking being run over by other approaching trucks,” says traffic police constable Nagaraj of Papinayakanahalli.

"The whole world may not know where India is, but they sure know where Bellary is. We are approaching court against the government action. How can they assert that we encroached forest area without ascertaining the facts? I’m not against curbs on illegal mining activity. But government should not use the same whisk for both donkey and horse and what is happening on legal mines is extreme "

— Abdul Wahab, former president of All India Mine Owners and Traders Association

Mining - IFS officer to probe Obulapuram row

BY SHIVAKUMAR G. MALAGI
BELLARY

The Union min istry of environment and forests (MoEF) has deputed a senior IFS officer to probe alleged violations of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 by Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC), owned by tourism minister and mining baron G Janardhan Reddy.
OMC, charged with encroachment in the Bellary Reserve Forest (BRF) area on the Karnataka-Andhra Pradesh border, will be investigated for violating the Forest Act in connivance with forest officials.
According to documents made available to Deccan Chronicle, MoEF conservator of forests (central) Y.K.S. Chauhan has been deputed to inspect the site where mining leases have been granted in Halkundi Honnali village blocks in Andhra Pradesh on January 29 and 30 following a com plaint from the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI), New Delhi.
FIMI secretary general R.K. Sharma, in a letter to the MoEF director-general of forests, dated September 17, 2008, complained of violation of the Forest Act by OMC in connivance with the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Anantapur.
Mr Sharma stated that Anantapur DFO Kallol Biswas had colluded with OMC to allow the company to encroach on government forest land of 10 hectares.
Bellary Iron Ores (Pvt) Ltd, in a letter dated September 11, 2008, complained to the director-general of forests that after “illegally occupying the 10 hectares of forest land, OMC has also encroached upon our land and evicted our workmen at gun point with the help of the local DFO and his staff”.
When contacted, Mr Janardhan Reddy refuted the charges, saying, “Let them (the MoEF team) probe the charges. The allegations are absolutely baseless.”

Coracle owners worried lot at Hampi

BY SHIVAKUMAR G MALAGI
HAMPI

We would have been left jobless if the bridge was completed ‘ and opened to trafficCoracle operators, who have for generations ferried people across the river Tungabhadra from Hampi to Anegundi are hoping the hanging bridge that collapsed here recently, will never be built as it could snatch away their only source of livelihood.
Nine families have been in the coracle trade at Anegundi for decades. Even the present generation has taken to the family trade of running the country boats, which are often used by the authorities to save people who may have fallen into the river.
The coracles which charge Rs 5 a passenger, are in demand as it takes less than 10 minutes to cross the river by boat while it would take over 45 minutes to reach Anegundi from Hampi by road. Even two-wheelers prefer to pay the Rs 10 they are charged to cross the river than go by road which would take them longer. Foreign tourists enjoy taking the ferry boat rides to islands like Virupapuragadde and Nava Vrundavana on the river.
“We have been ferrying people from Hampi to Anegundi for generations. We would have been left jobless if the bridge was completed and opened to traffic. We were worried about our livelihood and cursed the bridge everyday. Now, at last, Godess Ganga has heard our prayers and come to our rescue.” says coracle operator Honnurappa.
Members of the Harigolu Haisuvara Ambigara Sangha, the coracle operators’ union in Anegundi want the government to give up construction of the bridge.
“We mourn the labourers who died building it, but the bridge would have been bad both for us and the Hampi monuments. The government should introduce coracle rides for tourists coming to Hampi and Anegundi, besides appointing us as lifeguards on the river. This will help conserve these two ancient sites,” say the sang ha members.
The 226 meter long bridge was being built at a cost of Rs 11.48 crore, when a section of it collapsed recently, killing the labourers and putting its future in question.
The government had received Unesco permission to construct the bridge after much persuasion as the UN agency was concerned that it could mar the appeal of ancient Hampi.
Even as recently as two months ago, a Unesco representative and director of South-East Asian Nations in New Delhi, Minja Yang had warned state government about the deteriorating condition of the bridge.
He had suggested the government build only a footbridge downstream instead of the permanent concrete structure it was planning.

Bridge collapse - Tragedy at Hampi, 7 drown

BY SHIVAKUMAR G. MALAGI
HAMPI, JAN 22, 2009
Seven labourers died and at least 20 workers are missing after a suspension bridge across Tungabhadra river collapsed here on Thursday, bringing huge pillars, deck slabs and masonry crashing into the river.
Eyewitness Honnurappa, who operates a river ferry, said the 226-meter-long suspension bridge caved in at around 2 pm, soon after a team of 40 labourers resumed work after a break for lunch. Nine were injured in the mishap and were rushed to a nearby hospital.
Being built at a cost of Rs 11.48 crore, it is meant to connect the two ancient her itage sites of Anegundi in Koppal district where the famed king Krishna Devaraya was born, and Hampi in Bellary, where the Devaraya kings built the Vijayanagara kingdom. Both are Unesco heritage sites.
Anxious relatives and villagers began hunting for the missing workers, at least 10 of whom were skilled labourers from Orissa while the others were from Andhra Pradesh and neighbouring villages.
Honnurappa told Deccan Chronicle: “First, the pillars on the Hampi side collapsed, and then all the deck slabs started falling, this led to the central portion of the bridge on the Anegundi side caving in. This is where the labourers were working.” Villagers in Anegundi have identified three bodies fished out from the Tungabhadra river after a bridge collapse may have killed as as many as 20 people. The three bodies, fished out by distraught relatives were named as Dharmanna, 40, Bhemanna, 35 and Bharat, 25. Four bodies remain unidentified. Casualty figures could cross 20 as ferry operators said that with the river’s depth as deep as 300 ft. But senior police officers of both Bellary and Koppal districts maintain otherwise. “ Only two or three labours died and around five labourers are missing.” Seemanthkumar Singh, Superintendent of Police Bellary said that efforts are on to search for the missing labourers day and night and fish nets will be laid at certain points in river to fish out dead bodies.
“We can not give the exact number of casualties at this point of time. We will rope in the services of expert swimmers from Karwar Navy,” he said. Koppal MP K. Veerupakshappa pinned responsibility on “negligent” PWD engineers in monitoring the construction work. “I find the work by the construction agency sub-standard and want the government to blacklist the concerned contractor.” Health minister B. Sriramulu who visited the spot said Chief minister B. S. Yeddyurappa will conduct the spot inspection on Friday. “I will take the reports from the deputy commissioners’ and chief engineers of both districts and also rope in the services of the quality control experts to asses the work standard.