KARWAR: The heft of the mining lobby is not limited to Ballari and its Reddy brothers. All three candidates fielded by the major parties in Karwar assembly constituency are iron ore czars in their own right.
Congress has fielded Satish Sail (left) ho was elected as an independent in 2013 while JD(S) has gone with Anand Asnotikar and
BJP with Roopali Naik.
Sail’s Shree Mallikarjuna Shipping Private Limted was one of the stevedores operating at Belekeri port, a major hub for export of iron ore illegally mined from Ballari. Sail was arrested by
CBI in connection with illegal mining cases and he spent a few months in jail.
Asnotikar was also into the iron ore business, besides wielding considerable clout over Karwar port. He was elected from Karwar in 2008 after which he shifted to BJP. He recently joined JD(S). BJP candidate Roopali Naik has iron ore business interests in Chitradurga.
Belekeri and Karwar ports in the constituency were major export hubs for iron ore from
Karnataka and export of iron ore to China accounted for several rags-to-riches stories in the region. Belekeri hit the headlines in 2010 after lakhs of tonnes of iron ore stored was seized by the Lokayukta. The confiscated ore was allegedly stolen and exported.