Stop, duck and repeat: Life in short near ‘booming’ mines in Rajasthan

SIKAR: The ear-splitting sound of explosions brings life to a standstill each day in Rela, a small village surrounded by the mighty Aravalli mountain range in Rajasthan.

Women stop working in the fields and school children duck for cover, as the ground beneath their feet begins to shake. The residents of Rela have learned to live with the ‘man-made earthquakes, not willingly but out of desperation.

Situated in Sikar, a district adjacent to the state capital Jaipur, Rela falls under Neem Ka Thana, a small township that houses clusters of mines. The impact of the blasting, carried out in these mines, is quite similar to an earthquake.

Rela’s tale is an apt example of the dark side of mining , a sector that earned the desert state a revenue of ₹2,866.37 crore in the financial year 2015-2016.

THE DAILY SAGA

“Each day when blasting begins in the mines near the dam in our village, we rush indoors to avoid the shower of small and large stones, some as large as footballs, that follows,” said Ramkumar, one of the villagers.

Other villagers, such as Indraj Gurjar, show the cracks and fissures that have developed in the walls in most of the houses. The men claim that continuous blasting has weakened the foundation of their houses. Not too far away from the mining sites, government primary school teacher Manoj Kumar Sharma has to follow his daily errand of comforting scared students once the blasting begins. “In January, I had written to the administration stating that the students get scared during the blasting and at times stones crash into the school compound. We also face difficulties with the smoke resulting from it,” said Sharma. Seven months later, no action has been taken by the administration. Last year, Rajasthan allocated approximately ₹ 900 crore for the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) — a trust set up as a nonprofit body in districts affected by mining works — which is meant for the welfare of people living near areas where direct miningrelated operations take place.

The Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Yojana (PMKKKY) and other welfare schemes of the state are expected to be implemented through the DMF.

However, local residents claim that the administration has done nothing for their welfare till now.’

‘UNHEARD COMPLAINTS’

“When we complain about the difficulties we face due to blasting, all we get are threats from the people involved in the mining industry. At times, they also call the police who further threaten us,” claimed Jaswant, another resident of Rela.