The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Visakhapatnam News : Rig operators return with tales of corruption

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Monday, Jun 27, 2011
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam

Rig operators return with tales of corruption

S. Harpal Singh

Harassment at the hands of policemen in northern States is an experience they all dread

On home ground: A fleet of drilling rigs entering the Adilabad district border at Kobbai in Bela mandal.

ADILABAD: The start of the rainy season turns Adilabad into a melting pot of borewell drillers from southern States who share their experiences in corruption and harassment they come across in the north during the preceding working period. Thousands of drilling rig crew headed home for the monsoon hibernation breathe easy once they enter Andhra Pradesh borders either at Penganga river bridge on the NH 7 or near Kobbai in Bela, both in Adilabad district.

Good prospects

Due to plentiful work in the northern region, rig operators from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh head towards different States during winter and return at the end of summer. During their sojourn, they encounter perturbing corruption and harassment at the hands of policemen in other States.

Maharashtra, the home State of anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare, presents the worst case scenario. Harassment by policemen in other States like Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand or Bihar is much less compared to it, according to many rig operators who pass through that State.

“Harassment starts as soon as we cross into Maharashtra from Adilabad. Policemen stationed at regular intervals on the national and State highways demand illegal ‘entry' fee ranging between Rs. 200 and Rs. 400 though we have all papers including RTA permits in order,” explains Kangari Ashok Reddy of Gosukonda in Bhudan Pochampally mandal in Nalgonda district who returned from Jharkhand.

According to Sai Raghuram Reddy, another rig operator from Nalgonda, each one of them ends up coughing up about Rs. 25,000 by the time they reach their respective destinations. “Denial could lead to getting thrashed at the hands of policemen,” he says.

Easy targets

For rig operators, especially those from Tamil Nadu who are new to the places in northern States, language also poses a big problem. They obviously become easy targets for corrupt policemen. The operators are saved of a part of the trouble when they work in unison with an ‘agent'.

He is a person who requisitions drilling rigs for a commission basis and enjoys a certain amount of goodwill among local policemen.

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