Mining industry flouts transportation rules

MARGAO: With less than a fortnight to go before the mining industry in the state shuts operations following the latest Supreme Court judgement, mining firms have been brazenly flouting all rules governing ore transportation. What’s worse is the fact that authorities prefer to look the other way, thereby allowing these firms and transport contractors to have a field day.
Heavy rush of mining trucks transporting iron ore is witnessed all along the Codli-Capxem and Rivona-Tilamol-Capxem routes, and from early morning to late evening hours mining trucks can be seen moving bumper to bumper.

“In a bid to reach the jetties in time and to make maximum number of trips, speed limits are being violated with impunity, with traffic police remaining mute spectators. We were told that GPS devices and speed governors have been fitted on trucks to keep a check on violations. Has the law enforcing machinery in the state collapsed? Or has the Supreme Court asked the government to allow miners to violate all rules before the shutdown?” a visibly agitated Dabhal resident Pandharinath Naik said.

Truck owners admit that they have been asked not to worry about time restrictions and that they will be allowed to make as many trips as they wish to. And in a bid to make that extra buck, it’s utter chaos that rules on the killer roads of South Goa’s mining belts.

The regulatory mechanism for mining transportation introduced by the directorate of mines and geology mandates that mining trucks proceed from the loading point at the mines to the unloading point at the mining jetty in a convoy of five trucks, with a time lag of five minutes between the first and second convoys. This system is also required to be followed in the reverse direction - from the unloading point to the destination. Regulations are found to be violated since the February 7 Supreme Court requiring shutting down all 89 mining leases from March 16.

“Despite the fact that several innocent lives have been lost on the roads owing to senseless mining traffic, the authorities have, sadly, failed to bring about any sense of discipline or order on the mining roads. This only goes to strengthen the belief of the common man that the government bows to the dictates of the mining lobby,” Pradip Kakodkar, who heads Mission Bypass, a forum fighting for the cause of justice to mining affected people, told TOI.

A delegation of Mission Bypass on Wednesday presented a memorandum to the Quepem deputy collector, urging him to take necessary action to rein in the reckless mining transportation.

“…The government authorities have turned a blind eye to this menace and have preferred to be mute spectators,” the memorandum reads, further urging the deputy collector to “take appropriate action with respect to (safeguarding) the health, hygiene and safety of the commuters on these road”.

“Being a law enforcement authority, we shall hold you responsible for any untoward incident on account of this rampant mining traffic,” Mission Bypass has stated in the memorandum.