GOLD HUNT IN THE SUBARNAREKHA

A Report Prepared for

‘GOING FOR GOLD: SAFE LIVELIHOODS FOR INFORMAL GOLD MINERS IN SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIA

ARC Linkage Project

led by Dr Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt and Dr Keith Barney

September 2015, Canberra: The Australian National University

Prepared by:

Tarun Kanti Bose

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Contact Details Mr Tarun Kanti Bose Independent Journalist New Delhi, India Contact: Tarun Kanti Bose <tarunkantibose@gmail.com> Dr Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt Senior Fellow Resources, Environment and Development Group Crawford School of Public Policy The Australian National University ACTON, ACT 2602, Australia Telephone: +61409158145 Email: Kuntala.Lahiri-Dutt@anu.edu.au Website: www.asmasiapacific.org https://crawford.anu.edu.au/people/academic/kuntala-lahiri-dutt Dr Keith Barney Lecturer Resources, Environment & Development Group Crawford School of Public Policy The Australian National University ACTON, ACT 2602, Australia Telephone: +61 2 6125 4957 Email: keith.barney@anu.edu.au Website: www.asmasiapacific.org https://crawford.anu.edu.au/people/academic/keith-barney

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CONTENTS

GOLD HUNT ................................................................................................................................................................... 3

SAHARBERA ............................................................................................................................................................... 4

RUDIA – NARGADIH ................................................................................................................................................... 8

MOISARA ................................................................................................................................................................. 10

RANCHI DISTRICT ........................................................................................................................................................ 12

SINDUARI ................................................................................................................................................................. 12

PALNA ...................................................................................................................................................................... 13

WEST SINGHBHUM DISTRICT ...................................................................................................................................... 14

JHUMPURA .............................................................................................................................................................. 14

METHODOLOGY .......................................................................................................................................................... 16

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GOLD HUNT

Subarnarekha, meaning ‘streak of gold’ is the lifeline of the tribal and fisher folk communities

inhabiting the Chotanagpur belt. Some tribal communities who were traditionally accustomed

to mrigaya -r hunting in local forests for small game – now make a living sifting gold out of the

river’s alluvium. Alluvial gold-washing at an artisanal scale is carried on in the sands and gravels

of the river throughout its length but is more prominent around the Chandil dam – both

upstream and downstream areas from the reservoir. In fact, artisanal gold mining has expanded

as a livelihood activity since the construction of Subarnarekha dam. The construction of the

dam displaced tribal populations from their villages and lands, forcing the oustees to take up

gold panning in absence of any other option. In recent years, the district/block officials have

been assiduously trying to regulate artisanal gold mining by locating, identifying and stopping

the miners from getting access to the river. The task has proven difficult due to the dearth of

quantitative data and the confusion over the jurisdiction of the police, as well as the definition

of what comprises an illegal activity.

As described by Mihir Deb, Garima Tiwari and Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt in International Journal of

Mining, Reclamation and Environment (Vol. 22, No. 3, September 2008, 194–209) titled

Artisanal and small scale mining in India: selected studies and an overview of the issues written,

“Artisanal mining … is carried out by indigenous communities in remote locations on and from

common lands. Such mining is generally unauthorized as it is unlicensed, and commonly seen as

illegal. Strictly speaking, it might be better to describe such mining non-legal as often the

operations are beyond the purview of the law. For example, panning for gold from the alluvium

on the Subarnarekha riverbed in Jharkhand state is a non-legal artisanal activity, carried out

mostly by local indigenous communities that would fall in the non-legal domain. The situation is

complicated by the lack of quantitative data, and the confusion over jurisdiction and definition.

River Subarnarekha originates near Piska/ Nagri in Ranchi and traverses a long distance

through Ranchi, Seraikela-Kharsawan and East Singhbhum districts in Jharkhand. Thereafter it

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flows for shorter distances through West Midnapore district in West Bengal for 83 kilometres

(52 miles) and Balasore district of Odisha.

SAHARBERA

Saharbera village on the banks of Subarnarekha River is situated in Kharsawan block of

Seraikela-Kharsawan district of Jharkhand. Wading through the currents of the water and the

rocks pounding the feet, reached the other corner of the river, to see the shallow wells, which

is known as ‘dingy’ in the local parlance. Shallow wells are dug on the banks and the river water

is drawn by motor pumps.

Figure 1: SUBARNAREKHA RIVER IN SERAIKELA-KHARSAWAN DISTRICT

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Figure 2: SAHARBERA VILLAGE

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Wooden pan like a conclave tray, locally known as ‘donga’, which is made up of the bark of an

age old rare tree is filled ¾th of gravel and mud from the shallow well and is held just under the

water, tilted slightly away. Those working on the wooden pan begin swirling the water from

side to side, with a slight forward tossing motion. Then sufficient force is used to move the

surface and the lighter gravel out over the edge of the pan. Levelling the pan from time to time

and shaking it back and forth cause the light material to come to the surface and the gold

Figure 4: MOTOR PUMPS DRAWS WATER FROM THE RIVER

Figure 3: A VILLAGER USING WOODEN PAN TO EXTRACT GOLD

Figure 3: A miner covers his head with wooden pan after day’s work

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settles in the bottom. The pan costs between Indian Rupees 1500 and 2000 and it can be used

for several years if maintained.

To reach Saharbera men cycle through 15 to 20 kilometres and women walk to cross the Dalma

range, a wide swathe of hills and dense forest facing wild elephants for panning gold from the

alluvium tract of the riverbed.

As 50 year old Arun Singh Munda comes from Faranga village on Dalma range he said, “I come

along with other villagers, work 5 to 6 hours under the hot sun, do panning to extract gold from

gravel and alluvial deposit on the banks of Subarnarekha River.”

“In most of the villages in Dalma range, villagers are living in

abysmally poor condition. Either they toil in the field or work

as construction worker or sell fishes or vegetables. The

earnings were quite inadequate pushing us to desperation,

leaving us with no other option but to earn a living out of

river’s gold. Village men or women either walk or use their

cycle to reach the bank of Subarnarekha River in Saharbera,

Figure 4: SHALLOW WELLS DUG EARLIER FOR EXTRACTING GOLD

Figure 6: DULAL SOHISH Figure 5: ARUN SINGH MUNDA

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Pudasil, Bhuiyadih or Manikui. Then they identify a spot where we start working to extract gold

from the dust or gravel. We work in Saharbera for most of the days in a week from 10.00 in the

morning till 4.00 pm. The gold extracted by me is of a size of a mustard seed or posto (poppy

seed). In a week, I earn between Rs.200 and Rs.300. We sell the gold to an agent in our village.

We don’t sell it to a goldsmith in Chandil or Jamshedpur as we are afraid of being cheated,

although, we know that local middleman also cheats us.” says Arun Singh Munda.

We meet Dulal Sohish at his village, he said, “When summer sets in the gold extraction is quite

low. It picks up in the rainy days. Most of us are able to extract 1.5 or 2 rati in a week and we

are paid Rs.300-400 for one rati by the middleman.”

According to a local jeweller in Chandil, rati is equal to 0.18196 gm. The Indian standard of

weighing gold is Bhari. One bhari is divided in 16 annas and 1 anna into 4 rati. There are 64 rati

in 1 bhari. In the present day standard, 1 bhari is equal to 11.646 grams. The present market

value of 24 carat gold in India is Rs.29,290 per 10 grams.

RUDIA – NARGADIH

In Rudia village, 7 kms from Chandil in Seraikela-Kharsawan district, a team from the Geological

Survey of India (GSI) has been drilling since May-June 2011, where there is a potential reserve

of gold.

Seating at the back of the motorbike when we move through the uneven dusty tracts, we reach

the banks of Subarnarekha. When I ask Chunni Layak, she says sharing the secret of making

gold with outsiders will bring “bad luck”. “We’ve kept it hidden for generations and the only

time when someone came to know about it, ill luck fell on the village.” She refers to the

persistent problem created by the district/block official to stop mining.

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While we were being objected to take photos, physically handicapped 32 year old Ram Chandra

Layak intervenes and tries to silence those objecting to our queries, he said, “From 10 a.m. to 4

p.m., Chunni, along with other women and men, will be in the water, sifting sand and gravels

and the gold settles at the bottom of the wooden pan.”

When the darkness of the night engulfs entire village, Ram

Chandra Layak though physically handicapped but moves

faster on a bicycle and organises a meeting of the villagers

introduces us to 40 men and women, who take part in

panning daily on the riverbank to extract the gold from

alluvial deposit on Subarnarekha River.

50-year old Dal Govind Layak, who has been working for

over 3 decades on the Subarnarekha banks to extract gold.

He said, “Majority of those involved in gold panning feel

Figure 8: RAM CHANDRA LAYAK

Figure 7: RUDIA

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that it’s a low earning job. Apart from working in the field, villagers have no other options left

but to do gold panning. Even men and women, who find it difficult to do hard labour, involve in

extracting gold from the riverbank.”

Nargadih, the neighbouring village which is 6-7 kilometres from

Rudia, men and women from fisher-folk community had been

involved in gold mining on the banks of Subarnarekha River, for

generations. 75 percent of the villagers were involved in panning

gold but now it’s declining. As remarked by 26-year old Dilip

Sardar, “Gold extraction on the banks of Subarnarekha River

does not fetch us money. Earlier, villagers involved in gold

extraction got good returns selling gold to the local middleman.

Now I work on the field and make paper packets to eke out a

living. During the monsoon, men and women start working on

the riverside searching for gold.”

MOISARA

Moisara village, situated in Ichagarh block of Seraikela-Kharsawan district, on the

Figure 9: DILIP SARDAR

Figure 10: MOISARA

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Subarnarekha, women belonging to backward and tribal communities, made a living by selling

gold collected from the river for generations.

We follow 60 year old Dukini Lohar, to the riverside. Along with other women, she was in the

water, scraping mud and gravels in a wooden tray and panning for gold, which settles at the

bottom. At sunset, she heads back home. “I have been panning gold from gravel or alluvial dust

in the riverside since the age of five. I earn between Rs.300-400 a week.” Dukini is accompanied

by Manju Gope, Gurubari Gope and Bimada Gope to the riverside through muddy and slushy

field. “It has been a week I have not been able to extract gold from the gravel or alluvial tract

of the riverside.” Dukini shows how much gold she had collected in 7days till 22nd March.

Figure 10: DUKINI LOHAR Figure 12: DUKINI SHOWS GOLD SHE HAD EXTRACTED

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RANCHI DISTRICT

SINDUARI

Sinduari is located about 12 km south of Tamar in Ranchi district. It’s situated at about 55 km

from Ranchi on NH‐33 on the way to Jamshedpur. In Sindauri, exploration of gold has been

since 2002. Ten boreholes were drilled from west to east, out of which two boreholes showed

traces of gold mineralisation.

Figure 11: USING SHOVEL TO COLLECT GRAVEL AND MUD ON THE WOODEN PAN

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PALNA

Palna village is situated in the Tamar block of Ranchi district on the Kharkari riverbank. Here

shallow wells are dug and water is drawn out by motor pumps for gold panning. As it was

Sunday so it was a weekly holiday for those extracting gold on the river bank.

Figure 12: GOLD EXPLORATION IN SINDUARI

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“Tribals from 10 to 15 villages reach the riverside for prospecting gold. 100 to 150 villagers work

on the Kharkai riverbank by digging shallow wells,” said Shiv Lochan Singh Munda, Pradhan

(Head) of Palna village.

WEST SINGHBHUM DISTRICT

JHUMPURA

Jhumpura is situated in Sonua block and located in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand. Prior

to the construction of Punsawa dam on Sanjay River in 1980s, the tribal villagers extracted gold

from the dust of this riverbed.

Figure 13: KHARKAI RIVER IN PALNA

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35-year old Sailey Singh Purti said, “In the 1980’s, my parents and other villagers regularly

strained water of Sanjay River in the hope of finding gold. Whatever they extracted, either it

was a size of one-paisa coin or a grain of rice. After the construction of the Punsawa dam,

villagers have no other option but to migrate to Mumbai or other districts of Maharashtra,

Kolkata, Delhi or other cities for their livelihood as a wage labourer.”

Sitting nearby, 35-year old Narayan Purti shows us a weighing machine and touchstone, which

was used to test gold.

Figure 14: GOLD WAS OF A SIZE OF ONE PAISE COIN OR GRAIN OF RICE

Figure 15: TOUCHSTONE

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In the village, tribal land was acquired by the Government for the construction of Punsawa dam

but none of the tribal people resisted land acquisition in the name of ‘development’. Ho tribals

living in the village were convinced to sacrifice their land without any compensation. “If Ramesh

Jerai of Jharkhandis Organisation for Human Rights (JOHAR) had not intervened then we would

have lost our land. Though many of us gave their land without questioning the Government,”

said Kalyan Purti, who runs a cycle repairing shop.

Now, many of the villagers have to walk over 8 to 10 kilometres to reach Rowauli village,

crossing the dam for extracting gold. The way to Rowauli is quite inaccessible and the villagers

have to pass through dense forest. There is always a lurking danger of being attacked by wild

elephants. Shallow wells are dug on the riverside to extract gold.

METHODOLOGY

To observe the artisanal gold mining process at the alluvium tracts of the Subarnarekha river in

Saraikela-Kharsawan district, Kharkhai River in Ranchi district and Sonua River in West

Singhbhum district, we conducted field studies by interacting with the miners at the riverbanks,

interviewing them at their villages and by organizing focus group meetings in the evenings.

Figure 16: NARAYAN SHOWS WEIGHING MACHINE & WOODEN PAN

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During our interactions, interviews and focus group meetings, our efforts were to understand

and acquire answers to the following questions:

How is the artisanal gold mining in the riverbed are conducted and what are ingenious

traditional skills adopted to extract gold from the alluvium tract?

How does the age-old practice of gold panning employed by the miners deliver?

Why indigenous and backward communities have adopted gold panning, where they

have to toil long hours with very less of returns?

Has the drawing water through motor pumps had helped in extracting gold after

excavation?

What positive role could be played in introducing machines for earlier detection and

future course of action?

We tried to get answers to these questions, in a case study format in reportage style. A case

study approach permitted the intensive observation and analysis of a limited set of specifically

targeted sites. We used one-to-one dialogue, interaction and focus group discussion methods

to deepen our understanding of artisanal gold mining, techniques adopted and the people who

are involved in it.

Our approach leaves the possibility that factors not openly identified with the framework used

in research methodology but it helps in explaining artisanal gold mining and the people

involved in it. It also permits to discover the issues important in understanding miners and their

problems but not developed in analytical perspective.