Underground And On The Edge

THE DOMESTIC MINING LANDSCAPE IS STARING AT A MAJOR DISRUPTION WHEN AN ESTIMATED 329 MINING LEASES EXPIRE AND NEED TO BE AUCTIONED AT THE END OF THIS FISCAL. THE TARDY PROGRESS OF AUCTIONS SO FAR INDICATES THE CHANGEOVER COULD BE VERY MESSY.

- Sumant Banerji

In his own way, Maruti Chari, 61, is more popular in Usgao, a little village in North Goa, than the local corporator. While the place derives its name from the local word for sugarcane, its major industry and source of employment is iron ore mining. Chari is renowned in the area as the doc-tor of trucks – he can diagnose any problem in a truck merely by sitting in it and driving for 100 metres. His 41-year-old truck repairing centre on National Highway (NH) 748, which connects Belgaum in North Karnataka to Panjim, is one of the landmarks in the area.

But his business took a major hit when the transport business in the area dwindled in the aftermath of a complete ban on mining in Goa in March 2018. Having somehow endured for the last 18 months, Chari says he would have no option but to shut shop and lease out the land if mining isn’t restored by December. “I used to get 50-60 trucks for repair every day. Now I hardly get any,” he says. “Till 2015, I employed 50 people. Now, it’s down to just four. My earning has dropped from ₹ 5 lakh per month to just ₹10,000-12,000. At this rate, I won’t be able to survive much longer. I am just about holding on till December.”

Chari is an example of how the slowdown in the domestic iron ore mining industry is impacting those who are not directly involved in the business. Those who are, are even worse off. Santosh M. Thambi, 39, is staring at bankruptcy after he lost his job as a machine operator with Chowgule and Co. After losing his ₹30,000 a month job with a local miner, Yeshwant R. Satgaonkar often gets suicidal thoughts. Similarly, Sandeep M. Nirlekar, the sole bread earner in a family of five, has already defaulted on a personal loan after losing his employment.