Environment

SANDUR’S HARISHANKARA TEMPLE – ITS SACRED WATERS TURN RED DUE TO RAMPANT MINING

Meera Bhardwaj

The Republic of Ballari does it again as indiscriminate mining contaminates groundwater sources in Sandur.

Increased and rampant iron ore mining in the Swamimalai hills of Sandur in Karnataka has wrought upon serious ecological consequences. The flow of underground, perennial waters from the Sri Harishankara Temple is now contaminated with ore particles. The sacred waters emanating in the temple Nandi (bull) are drunk by devotees and tourists for its purity, sweetness and healing powers. According to local people, this Nandi with its sacred waters was established during Adi Shankara’s time.

Despite Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa assuring the people last year that mining will be prohibited within two kilometers of the 1200-year-old ancient Kumaraswamy temple complex, mining has continued rampantly with new leases being given on the Swamimalai hills. It is the state government owned company MML’s Subbarayanahalli Iron Ore Mine (SIOM) which is responsible for blasting and one can hear 3-4 blasts every day. These ranges at 900 metres are a repository of natural springs, evergreen forests that have a unique flora and fauna as also a catchment area for many river streams.

WATER CONTAMINATION

A week back, Vinayak Mudenur who is a M Tech graduate with specialization in mineral processing was on a visit to this temple. To his surprise, he said, “I found the Harishankara Theertha water contaminated with ore particles. The water tasted different. If you just drink water from the Nandi, nobody will notice it. But when I filled up a bottle and took it home, I found iron ore particles sticking at the bottom of the bottle.”

Every devotee to the temple queues up to carry the sacred waters that flows from a small hole in the Nandi and falls to a Kalyani located in the Harishankara temple. Local residents are a disturbed lot and don’t know what to do. Complaints to the Archaeology and state Mines and Geology departments and Pollution Board have fallen on deaf ears, they say. With mining shifting from Ballari taluk to Sandur, there is rampant legal mining with authorities happy to give leases on the Swamimalai hills with least concern for its environment or its people.

IRON ORE FINES

Thanks to mining in the Swamimalai hills, the waters from this temple have become unfit for consumption. The beliefs of the local residents that pure water emanates from an underground source in the upper reaches of the hills has been decimated as iron ore fines have percolated to these waters. Although mining officials claim that mining is legal and regulated in these hills and further overseen by the SC appointed monitoring committee, activists in Sandur say mining is legal but rampant and not at all regulated.

Expressing their serious concern, environmental groups in Sandur have said this is a shocking development and action should be taken to regulate blasting and mining within two kilometers of the Sri Kumaraswamy temple complex.

Sreeshaila Alladahalli, Samaj Parivarthana Samudaya, Sandur said, “It will not be surprising if the water flow completely stops in the wake of more and more blasting. The Institute of Rock Mechanics had conducted a study and claimed there was no need for concern as blasting within 500 meters of the temple complex will have no impact. However, now we can see the clear impact of blasting and mining on groundwater sources even two kilometers away. We have given representations so many times while the monitoring committee in Bengaluru which is there to look into such matters, I really don’t know what they are doing.”

ADVERSE EFFECT

With mining leases located on the upper reaches of this temple, the impact on the temple and its underground streams has been very adverse as fine iron ore dust has not only settled on the surroundings – in fact, on every tree, temple, road, bus stand and dwellings. The shola vegetation (Neela kurinji – Strobilanthes kunthiana is found here) on the beautiful hills are presently carpeted by red dust even as ore laden trucks spew more and more particles in the air.

Sreeshaila Aladahalli opines, “There are about 400 hectares of forest land on the hills which is the catchment area but blasting is taking place just next to it. We need at least a two-kilometer buffer zone from the Kumaraswamy temple complex but every department claims they have no say in the matter. There is absolutely no technical checking of the unscientific blasting that has been going on for years.”

APPEAL TO CHIEF MINISTER

The ASI protected monuments in this complex – Kumaraswamy temple and the Parvati temple too are in a bad shape and stands shrouded in a permanent orange haze while the air is thick with iron dust and disturbed by frequent blasting. These temples were discovered by Ghorpades in the 15th century. Despite being an ancient heritage site and also a biodiversity rich site, the state government has gone ahead and provided mining leases within one kilometer of the Chalukyan-Rashtrakuta temple complex and one can see blasting even 500 meters away.

Residents and environmentalists have appealed to the chief minister to take action and put a stop to continued blasting and mining around the ancient heritage. These hills, which are akin to Western Ghats, is home to a range of evergreen trees, medicinal shrubs as also leopards, sloth bears, fox, pangolins and common birds of north eastern plains and birds that are seen in the Western Ghats. “This government claims to be protectors of our spiritual heritage but in reality, they are giving away even our temple sites for mining, then one imagines about forests.”