This is the Dantewada district of south Bastar.
In this district of Dantewada,
we are in Kirandul.
Here in Kirandul, we are in this area...
which is surrounded by...
Iron ore mines.
I am standing near a bridge...
and there is a river flowing underneath.
The utility of a river is to provide drinking water...
as well as water usable for other basic needs.
But the iron ore mines that are...
near NMDC,
the waste from these iron ores...
is flushed into these rivers,
and as a result the water has turned red...
and contaminated with chemicals.
This has created...
a lot of problems for the people here.
Drinking water is scarce,
they face difficulty in daily chores.
I have with me Mangal...
Mangal Kunjam is familiar...
with the local issues of this place.
Mangal, what are the basic issues of this place?
For the past 60 years, the NMDC company...
is engaged in mining activities here.
You can see the plant installed on the hill.
The mining activities are carried out there,
and after that the waste slurry...
flows down into this river.
As a result, the river water gets contaminated with tiny iron particles...
and also with chemical waste.
This river crosses numerous villages on its way...
and then flows towards Dantewada.
It flows by the Sankani and Dankani temple of Dantewada...
and converges at the bottom of the temple. Then it moves further to join the Indravati river.
Children take bath here...
and cows and buffaloes also use this water.
This directly leads to...
diseases. Children bathe here...
so it leads to skin infections.
People use this water for washing, bathing and also for drinking.
You can see there, in the front,
as we were looking there, people dig a small pit beside the river...
and the water is used in this way by the tribals,
although the land and the forest belongs to them.
The NMDC is celebrating its Diamond Jubilee this year,
on a very large scale.
Diamond Jubilee for what?
Because they have completed 60 years of mining here.
So, they have celebrated Diamond Jubilee for 60 years of achievement.
The employees of NMDC are the only ones benefitting here.
We haven't travelled even 1 km and we can see...
that the entire forest area has turned red.
The Mahua trees and the Tamarind trees are all coloured red...
and we can say that...
that...
the forest is the only source of survival for the tribals.
The whole forest is ruined, you can see that tamarind tree...
that has totally turned red...
These trees will not yield fruits...
because it has been destroyed by the dust from mines.
Essar company is also mining here...
and the natural vegetation is ruined.
People are not benefitted in any way and...
they are celebrating Diamond Jubilee!
Well, when we crossed NMDC, we saw that...
the colonies were very well developed,
all means of comfort have been provided...
and in hardly 1 km from there,
there is a drastic change in the ground reality.
The NMDC, under its CSR scheme, might have adopted some villages...
and resolved to develop them,
and might be doing so?
There is a fixed budget for CSR. They have adopted 48 villages...
but the development can be seen only on paper.
They claim that they have set up schools,
installed handpumps,
improved the education level of the people and so on...
But, practically you can see...
where is water?
You can see the activities of CSR.
The money alloted for CSR...
I think there was a steel minister, Beni Prasad Varma,
Yes...
The CSR money was diverted to UP and development is done there...
You can very well see Naya Raipur...
is being developed by this CSR fund.
The people here, whose lands have been totally ruined,
whose mineral resources are being sent to Japan,
and to other foreign countries.
When the entire natural forest is being destroyed,
then, this place should be developed under the CSR activities.
You can't keep developing...
Dantewada or Jagdalpur or Raipur...
by using the CSR funds and then...
claim to have developed this place.
They are just showing that under CSR, we have done this.
You can see this village, there was habitation here,
there are hardly any houses.
In near future, this village will also be vacated.
We can see in the next 10 years...
this place will be totally occupied... maybe by the colonies of the companies.
This type of discrimination is being done.
People are kept away from education...
so that they remain unaware of their rights.
So that they do not question? Yes, that's it.
This is a major issue in the tribal areas.
Many...
tribal schools have been shut down.
3 or 4 schools, in Bastar, which is under the influence of the Naxals,
have been closed down.
The reason...
is that Naxals destroy the schools.
The schools have been targeted by the Naxals because...
CRPF camps were set up in schools.
When the Naxals saw that the schools are being used by security forces,
they started targetting the schools.
Ultimately, people are facing problems from both sides.
They are transferring the schools itself,
children are away from the schools...
The Delhi government claims to have destroyed the backbone of Naxalism,
and that Bastar is no longer the same as it was earlier.
Comfort has reached their doorstep, people are happy, there is development...
But when we come here... we see...
the picture shown from Delhi seems to be very blurry.
Because the Naxals...
The government too doesn't want the end of Naxalism.
Under the disguise of Naxalism, crores and crores of rupee is pouring in.
Naxalism is used as a tool. To develop the area... Naxalism,
to help the victims of Naxalism,
A lot of money is coming here in the name of the victims of Naxalism.
Where is the facilty for the victims?
How many Naxal victims are cared for by the government?
Let me tell you, there is not even one.
You are only making things worse for the tribals,
under the guise of fighting Naxals.
If I go for a protest...
or talk about my rights...
then I would be tagged as a Naxal and put behind bars.
This is just an excuse...
if you talk about your rights, then you are labelled as a Naxal...
or seen as the police's collaborator and then you are targetted.
In a way, you are attacked from both the sides.
The situation is such that...
"I did not see though I have seen... and did not hear even though I have."
We are in Dantewada right now...
This is the southern part of Bastar,
and now we have reached Bijapur.
Mangal Bhai, please tell us something about this area.
We have been informed that this place...
is under the influence of the Naxals.
You can see that we are hardly 1 km away from the main road.
Yes.
The road here... the condition...
We are travelling with great difficulty.
The road is in bad shape...
and we cannot see anybody in the vicinity.
We can see that if there is no...
development from the main road,
there is no proper road,
and hence, we can presume that this is a Naxal area.
The Lok Sabha elections are approaching...
Very soon, you will see banners and hoarding calling for a boycott of elections.
The whole area is under the Naxals.
You cannot see any signs of development,
and hence may assume that this is the Naxal influenced area.
And these... we can see very clearly...
that these potholes... are so big...
that the vehicle is pulling along with great difficulty.
How do people here...
manage their day to day problems?
This is a big question.
We have come for a day and are faced with so many problems...
This 10 minutes drive is taking more than an hour.
The people living here are surely facing problems every day.
Very true, the children...
see that big river there...
now... they are... using a pipe to construct a bridge.
You can imagine the...
difficulties of the school going children,
while going to the market,
or going to school.
There are so many potholes,
and all these, in a way,
depicts the failure of the government.
We are now at a distance of about 1 km from the block,
but we can see... nothing in the name development.
Hmm!
After 70 years of Independence,
when we talk about 'Make in India'...
There are many great politicians in India,
but here, we cannot even see electricity.
Can you see electric supply anywhere here?
Leave alone electricity, I can't see anything here.
I think, there is no use talking about..
development in India...
I will ask my friend Faizal...
who is operating the camera,
to show us from the front.
There's nothing at the back or the front. Only the Dandakaranya forest...
and... we are crossing the same.
A big programme is being organised...
at the place where we are going.
There is a fair...
of the tribals...
We are going to see that fair.