Advalpal prays mining calm is here to stay(ToI)

Advalpal prays mining calm is here to stay Gauree Malkarnekar, TNN | Sep 9, 2013, 01.32 AM IST ADVALPAL: Cramped on either side of narrow village lanes, the seemingly miniature houses of Varchawada in North Goa's Advalpal village are, at the least, welcoming. Armed with generous smiles, it is difficult to imagine the friendly residents in any act of aggression. But it only takes a simple shift of vision for a change of perspective. Gigantic heaps of red in the background stand like a grim reminder of the events of 2008 in the village- the red splash of colour abruptly breaking the rhythm of the green in the landscape. In the monsoon of 2008, when the mining silt broke the boundaries of the mines, located only 200 metres from the homes of locals, it not only filled their homes but also surpassed their levels of tolerance. For over a week, the excavation and ore transportation activities took place under police surveillance, with clashes breaking out frequently between locals and mine workers. The 2012 ban on mining operations has brought a calm, which the villagers pray is here to stay. But interspersing the locals' houses is the bright green of wild vegetation, coconut and cashew trees, recently bathed by monsoon showers, which serve as an annoyance for the villagers as they have now been left with nothing but of ornamental use. "Before mining arrived on the scene, the village would produce over 100 quintals of cashew every season. Now, the plantation owners don't even bother watching their trees. The odd fruit that grows is now plucked by a villager passing by and eaten. The paddy fields are beyond repair. There is no hope of any income from the plantations or fields," a middle-aged local Deepak Naik said, warily. The place of cremation and source of the local stream both proved precious grounds that were consumed by excavation activity. Now, death of every loved one in the ward brings with the grief a tremendous practical difficulty that often has to be resolved by carrying out the cremation in the very backyards of the villagers' homes. "Blasts could be heard at the mines at any time of the day. There was no prior warning given. When the blasts first began, the walls of my house began trembling like there was an earthquake. I went running out of the house screaming on more than one occasion, but no villager was able to help me. We were offered 15,000 per year by a representative of a mining company. Is that the price for disrupting our peace?" asked the elderly Annapurna Gurav. The densely green hills that formed the backdrop of Advalpal village were cleared off its forests, sliced and burrowed off their minerals all within a couple of months when mechanized mining began in the village, covering close to five kilometers within one mining season, locals claim. "It is only in Advalpal that one will see a wild boar or a peacock stroll in the village pathways when the sun sets," youngster Videsh Padloskar said, sarcastically. But the villagers are willing to live with the deep scars left on Advalpal's landscape provided their peace of mind is no more on the line. They cannot live with the sounds of mining machinery drowning out the sounds of their life, said villager Vijay Padloskar. "Instead of red, at least we see some green now. The respiratory problems are also no more as severe as before. Health is everything after all. Our children can at least study in peace without the noise of the mining blasts and machinery. This Ganesh Chaturthi, we will only pray that mining does not begin again," he said. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/Advalpal-prays-mining-calm-is-here-to-stay/articleshow/22424477.cms