SEARCH FOR THE GEM-SEEKERS: A team of labourers carrying out a search operation following reports of an accident claiming lives at Karaka hills in Golugonda mandal in Visakhapatnam district. — Photo: K.R. Deepak

GOLUGONDA (VISAKHAPATNAM DT.): Despite claims by officials on putting an end to illegal quarrying of semi-precious stones, a powerful syndicate calls the shots here in extracting the gem stones.

Their tryst with Narsipatnam -- the gateway to the agency -- started about a decade-and-half ago when traders from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Orissa and other places made a beeline to Paderu, Koyyuru and other semi-precious stone-rich areas.

With the failure of auctions by the Government a decade ago, the syndicate by greasing the palms of `locals who matter' has established a solid grip over the mining areas.

Occasional raids and arrests notwithstanding, the syndicate with the support of local politicians belonging to all hues, brings labourers from East and West Godavari districts and funds expenses towards digging, lodging and boarding. They also entertain them with regular booze so that they can work during nights with torchlights under difficult conditions.

The Karaka hill in this mandal, which has become the nerve centre for illegal quarrying, is also under the control of the syndicate despite an announcement by District Collector, Praveen Prakash, in January on constitution of joint action committees to keep the miners at bay.

The Collector during a visit to the site after an accident had told the people of Donipalem, Kasimi, Jamaru and other villages to protect the forest resources with the help of forest, revenue, mining and police officials. Karaka and other hills fall under reserve forest area.

Enquiries by The Hindu in the mining areas reveal that the Narsipatnam-based syndicate members, known as `seths' in local parlance, sponsor the expenses of labourers engaged and also indicate the pre-condition that the extracted stones should be sold only to them.

Locals terrorised

After the formation of JACs, the locals started asserting themselves leading to local and non-local conflict. "Even the syndicate terrorises the locals by sending rowdy-sheeters to their villages not to oppose the former's activity. Later they came to some understanding with the locals to engage them in certain pockets,'' confessed a forest official.

At present, different patches of the mining area are being dug by locals and non-locals. It is also believed that to drive away outsiders, locals could be spreading rumours on frequent accidents in the area.

According to local sources, the syndicate buys each semi-precious stone by assessing its quality. While a small stone of cat's-eye fetches around Rs. 5,000, Alexandrite is sold at around Rs. 1 lakh.

Illegal quarrying has brought prosperity to Narsipatnam by triggering a real estate boom. "In a town like Narsipatnam, now one can find several apartments and multi-storeyed shopping complexes,'' a local businessman pointed out. Locals also say that after the advent of the syndicate, there are several rags-to-riches stories in and around the town.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail